We All Grow Up, Even Percabeth
by HAWTgeek
Summary: we all know that teenage romances never last forever. Percabeth isn't any different. they break up like most couples, have half-bloods of their own, and move on with their lives.they gave up on each other a long time ago, but Aphrodite has other plans...
1. Chapter 1

Prequel,

Annabeth's POV,

I felt a tear fall across my face as his car drove away. College started in three days. He was going D.C., and I was staying here. It felt wrong, but we knew it wouldn't last forever. We agreed to stay in touch, but we probably won't. I sat down on the damp forest floor. I gently put my head in my hands.

"I'll always love you, Percy."

Real Time,

Annabeth's POV,

"Artemis, are you packed? Camp starts soon," I asked my eleven year old daughter. I put the small earring into my ear before I went to find her in the spacious loft.

"Almost. I have to get something for my friend Annie. Her dad wants to meet you today," my daughter told me as I entered her purple bed room. Her blonde hair was down and reminded me of my own when I was her age.

"Okay, now, did you pack light like I asked?" I asked Art.

"I did. You can stop worrying. I went to camp last year when that monster attacked. I'll be fine," she told me as if I was the child. I smiled. She was practically me when I was her age. She was barely anything like her father, Hephaestus. The only thing that she got from her father was the love to build machines.

"Fine, but hurry up," I told her. I walked into the living room again. I grabbed my phone from its charger. I remembered when I was heading to Camp Half-Blood. Almost every time I ended up seeing Percy, but I knew that those times are over.

"All ready," my daughter came from her room with two duffle bags. I helped her by grabbing one.

"Let's go get a cab," I smiled.

Percy's POV,

"Annie, slow down. I can't keep up. How much longer until we reach the stage where you sleep all day?" I asked trying to keep up. We were running in the forest to Camp Half-Blood. My daughter, Andromeda, was the daughter of Hecate.

"Dad, hurry up! I want you to meet Ms. Chase. She is probably already here. She is going to help Art un-pack," she walked faster.

"Wait, she's a demigod. And her name is Chase," I put the pieces together.

"Artemis, slow down. Mommy can't run this fast anymore," I heard a familiar voice say.

"Artemis?" my daughter asked.

"Andromeda?" a voice asked.

"Art," my daughter ran to the voice. I tried to keep up.

"Annie, I haven't seen you in forever," the blonde woman around my age asked.

"Hello, Ms. Chase," she said. I reached the area they were in.

"I told you. Call me Annabeth," she said. My eyes widened.

"All right, Annabeth. This is my dad," Annie took the woman's hand. She led her to me.

"Hi, I'm…Percy, is that you?" she asked. She looked even more beautiful than I remember.

"Percy Jackson, and you're Annabeth?" I asked.

"That was me. The girl who kept yelling at you since the day you got here," she smiled.

"You know each other?" Artemis asked.

"This is the Percy from all of those crazy stories," Annabeth explained.

"Dad, this is the Annabeth from the stories?" Annie asked.

"This is her," I told my daughter. The two girls looked at us in amazement.

"Come on, Hun. Percy, it has been great seeing you, but I'm afraid we must be going. I hope to see you soon," she smiled. Art and Annie pulled her off. She grabbed her daughter's bags before she was pulled away. I smiled as I grabbed my daughter's bags. I quickly made my way to see the new generation of half-bloods.

"Percy, my boy, great to see you," Chiron told me as I got closer.

"Great to see you. Have you seen my daughter?" I asked.

"She was pulling an old friend of yours. Have you seen that friend lately? I'm not supposed to say, but it's-" Chiron told me.

"Annabeth," I answered, "I just saw her. I didn't know she was a mom," I said.

"She is. I'm surprised you never kept in touch," he said.

"We did until we became parents," I told him. We said our goodbyes. I went to my daughter's cabin. A few other girls I recognized were in there.

"Dad, what took you so long? I dropped Ms. Chase off forever ago," my daughter said. I put her bags down.

Annabeth's POV,

"All right, Hun. Send me an Iris Message," I hugged my daughter before leaving. I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, Mom," she let go. I walked into the forest past Thalia's tree. This generation would never quite know the real story to that tree. They would barely know the right stories to any of our stories.

"All right. I'm leaving," I heard Percy say to his daughter, "I'll miss you," he walked into the forest with me.

"So which goddess?" I asked. We walked together.

"Hecate. You?" he asked.

"I'm surprised. You had a daughter with a woman who turned you into a household pet. Hephaestus is Art's dad," I told him.

"Doesn't surprise me," he smiled.

"All right, Mister Hero Dad, I think we are having to spend a summer without our kids. Want to come with me for a drink?" I asked smiling.

"What do you think?" he asked sarcastically.

"Where to?" I asked smiling.

"I know this great place," he smiled.

**[I'm not sure if I want to continue this, but I promised a story]**


	2. The Summer's Over,but I Hope We're Not

Chapter 2,

Percy's POV,

"Beep. Beep. Beep," my alarm clock continued. I turned it off before I remembered the snooze button. Annabeth and I had gotten drinks, again, last night. We had been doing that all summer. We would share stories about quest, our jobs, and, mostly, parenting. She told me about her classes she teaches at N.Y.U. Her firm for architecture is going swimmingly [her words]. I am, belief it or not, a college professor. I teach college classes and quite enjoy it. When I was younger, I would have never forseen me doing this, but I do. Today is the day I pick up Annie from camp. She and Artemis talk to Annabeth and me all the time, but they ask that we answer together, to "save money". Annabeth and I know the real reason. Over this summer, Annabeth and I have decided to write our adventures into a book for middle school children. We plan to change the names, of course. This way, this generation of Demigods knows the truth, but humans think it is made up.

"I'm up," I sleepily told the clock. I got up and preformed my usual morning routine. First a shower, brush teeth, dry off, get dressed, grab coffee, and pray to the gods your not late. My phone vibrated.

"Hello?" I answered the blackberry.

"I'm so sorry to lay this on you, but my meeting is going to run late. I tried to cancel it, but they wouldn't let me. Can you handle Art for an hour or so?" Annabeth asked.

"Of course. I understand. I'm on my way. Good luck with the meeting, Wise Girl," I said. I heard her let out a small laugh.

"I promise to return the favor, Seaweed Brain," she laughed. We exchanged goodbyes as I got into my taxi.

"To this address," I handed the cab driver a piece of paper.

"Third person to want to go here. Are you sure? I've been there's nothing there," the cab driver told me.

"It's fine. My daughter went for a hike down there. Going to pick her up," I lied. The drivers started asking questions recently.

"How old is she? I have a daughter myself. The wife and I are very proud," the driver told me.

"Just turned eleven," I told him.

"Married?" he asked.

"Afraid not," I answered as we were almost there.

"Don't worry, Kid. You're young. You'll find someone," he told me as I got out.

"Thanks. Wait here a second," I told him as I went into the forest. I heard crys of pain, kids begging to stay, giggling girls, and goodbyes. I looked at the human parents standing in front of Thalia's pine. I walked straight through. One of the moms tried to follow my example, but failed.

"Dad," Annie ran and gave me a hug.

"Hey. Did you miss me?" I asked her. She nodded yes. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Bleck," she wiped it off.

"Artemis, I'm here to pick you up. Your mom couldn't make it. She promises she'll make it up," I looked at her. I expected her to be disappointed.

"Great. Then that saves us the question," she smiled. She was just like her mom. She seemed to understand that her dad wasn't around. Her mom and her had a great relationship. Annie is like that too. I was different. I blamed my dad.

"What question?" I asked them as I helped them with their bags.

"We want to have a sleepover," they told me.

"Sounds fun. Whose home?" I asked. We walked out of the forest.

"We're thinking," they climbed into the backseat. I put their bags in the trunks.

"Well, tell me when you decide," I slid into a seat next to them.

"All right, back to where we started," I told the cab driver. He drove off.

"How was camp?" I asked them.

"Awesome," they both answered. The two started telling me about how much fun they had. I remembered telling my mom about how much fun I had. I listened intently. Soon, she wouldn't be my little girl anymore. She won't tell me everything. She'll come home and just tell me "It was fun"

"We're here," the cab driver said. The girls piled out to get their bags. I paid the cab fee before getting out to help. I went to the back to find them not needing my help.

"Need help?" I asked. They shook their heads no. I struggled to keep up as the ran up the steps to the lobby of the apartment. We climbed into the spacious elevator. The ding sent us running into the arpartment.

"I win!" Annie yelled. We always race to the apartment. I un-locked the doors.

Annabeth's POV,

"Sorry, I'm late," I walked into Percy's apartment.

"No trouble. They have been great. I've never seen Annie act so much like a tomboy. It's been great," he told me. He closed the door behind me.

"That is great," I told Percy. I looked in his sea green eyes. I never wanted to look away. I felt like a teenager again. He smiled. I heard running down the halls. I shifted my eyes to my daughter. I got on my knees to hug her.

"Artemis, I missed you so much," I kissed her cheek.

"I missed you, too, Mom, but I had so much fun," she smiled.

"That is so great," I told her.

"Art, the new movie is coming on," Annie called. Art went to Annie's room.

"How was pickup? I feel awful for missing it," I said.

"A woman tried to cross the border. Clarisse's kid was racing a few others. God, I remember when we were the kids racing," he said.

"Don't start with me. Let's not go into 'We're-Old' talk," I said.

"Coffee?" he asked.

"I'll get it. You took care of the girls. I owe you," I told him.

"I'll get it. You are the guest," Percy smiled.

"We're not going to agree on this, are we?" I asked.

"Nope," we laughed. His laugh made me feel almost weak in the knees.

"Compromise?" I smiled.

"Guys, can you get us sodas?" Annie asked.

"I'll get theirs. You get ours," I told him. He smiled and I followed him to the kitchen. The pale blue walls calmed me.

"Which school did you choose for Andromeda?" I asked.

"I've been a demigod in public school. I thought about it and decided the private school three blocks down," he told me as I got two grape sodas. He poured two cups of coffee.

"Atlantic Prep?"

"You know it?" he looked at me.

"Art is enrolled there," I answered.

"I think the Fates might be overdoing it just a bit," he held his fingers a centimeter apart. I laughed.

"Popcorn, too?" Annie asked again. Percy and I exchanged glances.

"In the cabinet above the microwave," Percy answered for me.

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain," I started the popcorn.

"You know, I forgot how much I missed that name. When I went to visit camp, no one at camp would call me that. They thought it would be weird after we broke up," he told me.

"I can see why they would think that," the microwave beeped. He handed me a bowl. I put the popcorn in the bowl. As I walked to their room, I felt his eyes on me. I must have been smiling.

"Mom, are you okay?" Artemis asked.

"'Course. Here you are. Now remember you can sleep in today," I told them. I left them to their sleepover. Percy was by his laptop.

"Annabeth, I have a very embarrassing confession," he told me as I sat beside him. I took a sip of the coffee as we moved to the couch.

"What is it?" I asked as I turned on _When Harry Met Sally_ .

"I entered a bird house building contest thinking it was for Annie," he told me. I laughed.

"You need my help how?" I asked.

"It's supposed to be in partners, and the kids don't want to help. So, I was thinking…" he tried to find words.

"I'll help. If that's okay?" I smiled. He smiled. Flashbacks from younger years entered my mind. I never wanted to grow up. I always wished I could have stayed in our kiss after the Titan War. Jason still likes to come and visit the camp for our stories.

"You always know what I'm going to say. Even when I got the Achilles Heel," he smiled.

"I still don't know how I knew. Now, let's get to work," I told him.

Percy's POV,

I woke up to the sound of the alarm clock in my phone. Annabeth was still asleep. We had fallen asleep on the couch. In one hand I still held a drawing pad, and the other was loosely around Annabeth. Her head rested perfectly on my chest. A smile crept on my face. I hadn't felt like this since I was a teenager. Deep inside, all I wanted was her, but I need to grow up. We each have different lives, but my head reminds me that this summer was one of the best I've ever had.

"Annie, shh!" I heard Artemis whisper. They were half-way down the hall. They would find us like this.

"Annabeth," I whispered in her ear. She groaned.

"I'm up," she said. She leaned up to assess where she was. She knit her eyebrows as id wondering why she was in my apartment.

"You fell asleep. The girls are up and in the hall," I explained.

"Oh," she sat up. I did the same.

"Dang it," Annie muttered as she realized we weren't still asleep in each others arms when she walked in.

"All right, girlies. How did you sleep?" Annabeth asked smiling. I looked at her. I had always thought she would be a good mom, but I didn't imagine this good.

"Good. Thanks, Ms. Chase," my daughter said. I looked at my daughter. She had hated almost every girlfriend I had ever had while she was around. Only two of my girlfriends she had liked, but yet the second Annabeth meets her, Annie is practically planning our wedding.

"Great. Now, Art, we should get out of poor Mr. Jackson's hair," Annabeth told her daughter.

"Oh, no. It's been great," I told them.

"You're sweet, but I owe you. Girls, get dressed," she told them. They scurried to Annie's room.

"Plan?" I asked.

"Have you done school shopping?" she asked smiling.

"No, why?" I asked.

"Perfect. Now, does Annie need to do anything today?" she asked.

"No," I answered.

"How about I take her with Art and me shopping?" she smiled.

"It's fine, Annabeth. You don't have to," I told her.

"You're right. I don't _have _to. I _want_ to," she told me. I was about to object, but she held her hand up. I knew that meant "Discussion over".

"Fine, thank you, Wise Girl," I smiled.

"You're right. It feels good being called that," she smiled. Annie and Artemis appeared before we could say anything else.

"Come on, Girls," Annabeth told them. Annie gave me a kiss on the cheek. Artemis thanked me for letting her stay over. They walked out of the large loft.

"I forgot how much I loved her," I told myself as they left.


	3. School's In Session!

**Annabeth's POV,**

**I felt my stomach flip. My sweaty palms turned the steering wheel. My daughter was listening to music and examining her uniform. Today is the day all parents secretly hate: first day of school. Artemis usually rides the subway to school with her friends, but she asked me to drive her today. We overlooked the school. A few other parents were already there, but not many. **

"**Here we are. Do you have everything?" I asked, trying to sound cheery.**

"**Yup. Thanks for driving me," she smiled. We said our goodbyes, and I felt my heart break as she walked away. Annie immediately ran up to walk with her. I looked for the familiar face I had been seeing a lot. There he was. His car wasn't too far off. Once he saw me, he waved. I found myself smiling and doing the same. Percy drove off. I did the same. The drive to work wasn't far, and the truth is I usually use the subway. Driving in New York is pure torture. I put the car in park.**

"**Morning, Annabeth," my half-brother, Malcolm, told me.**

"**Morning. How is Mia?" I asked.**

"**Fine. We went to the doctor. It's twins," he smiled.**

"**Congrats," I hugged him.**

"**I know, but Hera still hates us. She told us that she put more god blood in them," he said sadly.**

"**Oh, I am so sorry," I said putting my hand over my heart as we walked into the building.**

"**Mia is upset, but we're happy she didn't kill the kids," he said.**

"**Nice way of putting it," I smiled. The work day marched on as usual. It felt strange not getting the call in the middle of the day from Artemis. I made her call me to be sure she was okay. Then again, it felt weird not seeing Percy a lot. Finally, it reached closing time. Artemis was studying with Annie. That meant I get to see Percy. **

_**Bad Annabeth. You're an adult. You both are adults. You are grown up. Picking up your daughter is not about seeing Percy,**_** I scolded myself. I made my way down to the car. I decided to drop it off at my apartment building. Once that was done, I walked the short walk to their building. I pressed the intercom.**

"**Hello?" Percy's voice asked.**

"**Seaweed Brain, is Art here?" I asked.**

"**Wise Girl, don't worry. She's here," Percy said. I couldn't see, but I knew he had to be smiling. I heard the buzz that opened the door. I walked in and made my way to the apartment. **

"**Mom, is it time to go?" Art asked when she saw me.**

"**Yeah. Get your books," I told my daughter. She did so. **

"**How was work?" Percy asked me.**

"**Fine. You?" I asked. We did the annoying small talk, that was un-like us, until my daughter re-appeared. **

"**Thanks for having me over, Mr. Jackson," my daughter told him as we left. I looked at him and still saw the kid I had known, but I remembered he wasn't. I thanked him before he closed the door. My heart sank. Artemis told me about her day as we walked home. I unlocked the door when she finished.**

"**Sounds like a great first day," I told her. She smiled.**

"**Chinese?" she asked. **

"**You know me too well," I smiled. We spent the rest of the night watching movies and eating the Chinese. My mind wandered to Percy. His smile still haunted me.**

**Annie's POV,**

"**Time to go home," the teacher told us. I packed up. Art walked with me to the subway.**

"**How are we going to get them together?" Art asked referring to our parents. **

"**I don't know. We tried this summer, but it didn't work," I felt defeated. We boarded the train. Art drew a sketch for a science fair invention. I watched her draw from the corner of my eye. **

" **What about the art show? We both will be in it. They both have to show up. We are both going to the sleepover. They could spent some time together!" Art thought aloud.**

"**Perf! Now, you handle your mom. I'll handle Dad," the train lurched to a stop. Artemis and I discussed the plan until it was time to slit up.**

"**See you tomorrow," she waved. I watched her disappear around the corner as I went the other way. **

**Percy's POV,**

"**All right, Zack, answer this question," I told one of my students. He named the correct answer. A girl raised her hand. I called on her.**

"**Now, I have a question. Why did the myth mention why she didn't marry Ares?" she asked.**

"**Well, some versions did, but the Greeks loved love triangles. They lived off Drama," I answered. **

"**But you would think the leader of love would know that there is no excuse for not marrying the one you love," she continued.**

"**Well, this can be sort of used in real life. Not all things work out," I answered. **

"**You seem to know what you're talking about," the girl noticed. I tried not to blush.**

"**Believe it or not, teachers used to have lives," I joked trying to get out of the question. **

"**Hello, I'm a Psychology major. Your recaction to this seems to mean you have recently felt like that," another girl spoke out. I didn't get a chance to answer. My phone rang. I answered. **

"**Hello?" I asked. **

"**Hey, Seaweed Brain," I heard Annabeth's voice. **

"**Hey, Wise Girl. What can I help you with?" I saw the girl who had spoken last take notes on the way I acted. I forgot the class was there. **

"**Don't mean to disrupt your class, but what day is the art show?" she asked.**

"**Oh God. I forgot. I'll ask Annie. I'll email you it," I said into the small phone.**

"**Thanks. Tell Annie I said hello."**

"**Tell Artemis I said hi," I said back. We hung up.**

"**Who's Annabeth?" as you can tell, I have a very laid back class. They treat me like a friend not a teacher.**

"**My daughter's best friend's mom. Now, back to work," I ended the conversation.**

"**How was school?" I asked my daughter as I got home at six.**

"**Fine, how was work?" she asked not looking up from her homework. Her eyes didn't meet me as I walked into the kitchen. I had been her dad long enough to know she was hiding something.**

"**What's your little secret, you're not telling?" I asked. She didn't look up as I grabbed a blue apple. My mom had started the love of blue food.**

"**Nothing, Dad," she said.**

"**Fine, but I know your weakness," I smiled.**

"**What is it?" she asked looking up from the kitchen table**

"**You love these," I held a shining multi-color necklace from the art fair at the college. She smiled.**

"**So, you won't give until I tell?" she asked.**

"**No, you can have it," I handed her the magical-looking necklace. **

"**Why?" she asked suspiciously.**

"**You'll tell me out of guilt," I smiled. Most would say it's wrong to do that to your kid, but, obviously, they've never had a daughter of Hecate. She frowned. **

"**It won't work," she said, a hint of doubt crawled into her voice. **

"**Sure, Honey," I told her smiling. She shot me looks and reminded me of Annabeth. I shook off the thought. She was all I am able to think about.**

"**I can do it, Dad. Monster training toughened me up," the doubt still stayed in her voice. **

"**Fine," I raised my hands in surrender like my mom had.**

"**I can do it," she seemed to be convincing herself. **

"**What do you want for dinner?" I asked.**

"**Jerk Chicken," she answered.**


	4. What's an Art Show, Without a Kiss?

Chapter 4,

Annabeth's POV,

"Mom are you ready?" my daughter came out of her room in a dress Malcolm's wife had made. It was black with small silver lines, that looked like metal wires in a machine. Her blonde hair was down, highlighting her light blue/gray eyes.

"All most, how about you?" I asked as I slipped my black pumps on.

"Yes, I even have my bag for the party," she smiled. I walked to the mirror to put on a fresh coat of lipstick. I gave myself one final once-over. I was wearing a high-waisted black skirt, a silky loose gray shirt, and Chanel pumps. My daughter put my pearls on for me.

"All right then. Let's get going," I smiled. We walked the short walk to school. Artemis chewed her lip nervously.

"What's wrong, Hun?" I asked.

"I don't know. Just nervous about the competition ," she looked onward to the building.

"You've never been nervous about a competition. Is something else bothering you? Is it the fact you are going against Annie?" I asked her.

"No, that's not it," she said. Before I could ask another question, she dragged me into the building. The hallways had the student's artwork hanging up.

"Artty," Annie walked up to us with her father behind her.

"Uh, Annie, we have that thing, that's over there," Artemis said.

"What thing?" she asked.

"That thing. You know, the thing that is over there, far away from here," Artemis tried again.

"Oh right, _that thing_. Let's got check on _that thing," _Annie said. The scurried off. Percy and I burst out laughing. His sea green eyes met mine.

"Well, we might as well see their artwork. Where is Annie's?" I asked trying to keep myself from running into his arms and kissing him on spot. He smiled and led me to a painting on a wall. It was of a large plain with golden wheat. A pink glow surrounded a couple. She had blonde hair, and he had black hair. They were in an embrace.

"Annie made this?" I asked. It was beautiful.

"She's taking lessons. She worked on it for awhile. She told me she saw a picture of a couple like this at camp," he told me. I took a closer look.

"I know it," I answered smiling.

"How? Who is it?" he asked me.

"Us. Malcolm secretly took it," I answered.

"That explains the blonde hair and black hair. She tends to draw couples with the same hair color," he looked at the picture.

"Artemis never draws faces unless it is a close-up. I never understood that. She says that it makes the beholder think it could be them," I said.

"In this case it is. Now, where is Art's?" he asked.

"Near the corner over there," I said. He followed me.

"Oh my God! This is the picture she wouldn't let me see," I said of the painting.

"Who is the guy?" he asked.

"That is her best friend, Zak. The other girl is Nikki," I said. Four kids sat at a camp fire. They had no faces, but I could tell by the posture and hair who they were. Little stars dotted the sky.

"I never met Zak," he said.

"He is exactly like you," I told him.

"Poor you. How did you get so unlucky?" he smiled.

"Who knows? Maybe, I raised her too well. She needed someone to distract her," I smiled. He looked into my gray eyes. A twinkle of a smile remained in his eyes.

"At least, he probably isn't as cocky or stupid as me," he joked.

"Actually, a son of Hades. He is great though. Not at all like Nico," I smiled.

"Oh, better watch out. Us 'Big Three' kids are pretty bad," Percy smiled.

"Please come to the lunch room to hear the winners," a voice said over the intercom. My heels clacked against the marble floor as Percy and I walked to the lunch room. Strangely, most of the parents were currently divorced. The few couples walked hand in hand. Percy was looked at by all of the single moms, and I was looked at by all of the single dads, who hadn't already tried with me resulting in them being let down.

"Here you two are," I told the girls. They gave me a hug.

"We're nervous," they told me.

"Girls, there is no need to be," I gave them a comforting smile. Percy looked at me with a sweet look in his eye, as if admiring me being a good mom.

"What if we lose?" Annie asked me. I took them to a table. They sat beside me. Percy sat in the seat on the other side of me.

"Did you have fun making the picture?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"Well, if you win, that is great. If you don't, you still had fun," I tried to cheer her up.

"All right everyone. We had a very tough time choosing the winners. The judges could not decide, so we had to bring someone else in to help. Our winner is… Andromeda Jackson," the young girl smiled. I looked at Annie. She was smiling as well.

"Congrats, Darling," I told her.

"Thanks," she went up on stage. They congratulated her. Finally, she returned.

"We are going to a sleepover. See you tomorrow at 2," the girls ran off. Percy and I smiled as we watched them leave. Percy and I walked down the marble floor. I started to slip on a spill of water. He caught me. We ended up in a corner pushed up to each other.

"I have loved you since the day we met. I tried to forget you, but I can't. You are perfect with everything, even my daughter. When I'm not with you, I feel like I am going to loose my mind. And I have been stopping myself from doing this since that day we met again at camp," he didn't let go. His arms wrapped around me. My gray eyes met his sea green eyes. Our faces inched closer. His lips crashed onto mine.


	5. Maybe It Isn't Such a Bad Idea After All

Chapter 5,

Percy's POV,

I woke up from the light streaming into my eyes. My arms were wrapped around Annabeth. I smiled. The events of last night started to come back to me. Her head was pushed up on my bare chest, and I had never been so happy. I remembered the day I met her. She was a rude, beautiful blonde, that looked like a princess. Even after I got passed all of that, I never thought I would wake up with her in my arms. Annabeth's gray eyes fluttered open. She looked up at me. Her memory came back.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Good morning," I smiled back.

"We better get up. You have a class to teach. I have to pick up the girls and head to work. From the position of the sun, we have almost an hour," she told me.

"Well, we do still have some time," I leaned down and kissed her. The beeping of my phone interrupted us. I looked at her as if asking to answer it. She nodded.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone.

"Hey, it is Kathy, the teacher of government. Zack couldn't call to make sure you won't be late, and he asked me. You have 45 minutes. How was the art show?" a fellow teacher asked into the phone.

"It was fine, Kathy. I'll be there soon," I hung up.

"Let me guess. Time to get up?" Annabeth asked.

"One last kiss," I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. She got up. She had left clothes here for when she stayed the night to watch the girls. I took a fast shower while she made her way to Annie's closet. Some how it was out in her room. I quickly changed and preformed a sort of normal routine. Annabeth handed me starbucks coffee as I entered the kitchen.

"I ran over to get one. I stink at making coffee. The girls are with Carla, right?" she asked me.

"Yes, now, what is her mom's name? I always forget it," I asked Annabeth.

"I think it was Beatrice," she told me. I walked to her to get one last kiss.

"Do you have any idea how long I have wanted to kiss you?" she smiled.

"I'm guessing the same as I have wanted to kiss you," I smiled back. We kissed one last time.

"Come on. We don't want to be late. Now, the girls will want to know what happened last night. We can't tell. We need to get a story straight," she told me.

"As long as I can still kiss you, make up anything you want," I smiled.

"Art will figure out I didn't go home last night. How about this? I spent the night over here, and we decided to give into their valiant efforts of them trying to get us together," she suggested.

"Perfect, but don't give too many details," I told her as we left the apartment. She walked alongside with me until we reached the door in which we head different ways.

"Don't worry. I'll see you when I drop off Annie at five," she gave me a small and brief kiss before we went our separate ways. I watched her walk away for a few moments before I called for a cab. Because of me coming to kiss Annabeth every ten minutes, I was too late to make the complicated subway and walk to campus. I told the driver where to go. He drove steadily onward. I got out of the cab and paid the man. I beat my class to the classroom with a few seconds.

"Hello, Mr. Jackson. You seem pretty happy. Did you have a crazy night last night?" the girl who loved to watch the way I act asked.

"You could say that," I answered. The rest of the class piled into the seats. The girl did the same.

"Hello, class. Today we will be having a test over the story of Jason. You have the next fifteen minutes to study," I told them. They all whipped out there books, but a few. The others either made all A's and knew it or they didn't slightly know it and thought it was a waste of time to even try. I checked my email while I was waiting. No new messages.

"Times up. Put away your books."

Annabeth's POV,

"Ellie, can we make this quick. I have to pick up Art soon," I told my secretary. She was my age and pretty much one of my best friends.

"Of course," she closed the door to my office behind her, "What's his name?" she asked.

"Who?" I asked.

"Don't give me that. You have smeared lip gloss, and you've been smiling all day. I know that smile. Be thankful Malcolm isn't here to ask. Now, tell me the truth," she told me. I sighed.

"Percy," I told her.

"No way!" she sat down, "Since when?"

"Last night," I answered.

"Oh my god! That was why you didn't answer your email last night. You always answer at nine after Art is asleep," she smiled.

"I never noticed I do that," I said.

"You do, but who made the first move? I need details," she told me.

"After the girls were gone, he kissed me at the school art show. Nothing really to tell. We went to his place. I have to go get the girls," I told her.

"Fine, but on Monday I want all of the details," she got up and left. I smiled . I quickly grabbed my cell phone and purse before I got up from my seat.

"Evening, Annabeth. Tell the girls I said hi," Malcolm passed me in the hall. I silently thanked the gods he didn't do the same thing Ellie did.

"Be back soon," I told him before I left the building. I rode the subway to Carla's apartment. Annie and Art were the first to leave.

"Bye, Carla," the told the hostess before we left. It felt great walking down the street with the two girls. They watched me intently as we boarded and un-boarded the subway.

"What is it, Girls?" I asked as we were almost to my office.

"Who were you kissing?" they asked. I looked at them in astonishment. I knew they would find out, but I didn't think it would be that fast.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked.

"You seem happy, and your lip gloss is smeared," Art told me.

"Am I the only one who didn't notice my lip gloss?" I asked. They laughed.

"Don't try that. Who was it?" Annie asked hopefully.

"My darling, there aren't many people for me to meet. Who do you think it was?" I asked.

"Was it….maybe…my dad?" Annie asked. This was the moment I had dreaded. The moment of telling a girl I was involved with her dad.

"Andromeda Jackson, you just figured out the mystery," I told them smiling. I waited to see their crucial reaction. Surprisingly, the girls smiled.

"Finally!" Artemis said.

"You mean, you have been planning this?" I asked knowing the answer.

"Maybe," they told me as we entered the building. I smiled to myself. Thank the gods! Artemis led Annie to the room where Art spends her time at the office. They spent the rest of the day in there while Malcolm and I worked on blueprints for a building. My mind kept wandering to Percy. I was scared. What if we broke up again? It would ruin everything. Our daughters might lose their friendship. I would lose my best friend.

Percy's POV,

"Dad," my daughter gave me a hug. I hugged her back. I felt Annabeth's eyes on me. We let go and Annie told me about how much fun she had, Art jumping in occasionally. I listened intently. Annabeth smiled.

"Dad back in a second. We have to get something for Artemis from my room," Annie told me. The girls scurried off.

"Jigs up. They know," Annabeth told me.

"How long did it take them to figure it out?" I asked getting closer to her.

"About five minutes," she answered.

"That's fast, even for them," I smiled.

"My lip gloss was smeared," she answered.

"Explains it all," I smiled getting close to her.

"If you are going to kiss me before the girls get back out, I would do it now," she smiled.

"How did you know?" I smiled back.

"I just do," she was inches away from me. She smiled as I wrapped my arms around her. She sweetly planted her lips on mine. The kiss was as soft as a whisper. I heard Annie's door slightly creak open. They were trying their best to spy. Annabeth and I separated.

"Drat," I heard Art mumble.

"Ready?" Annabeth asked trying to sound cheerful.

"Wait. Miss Chase, we have to work on a project for woodshop. Art needs to stay a little longer. Maybe you could stay too," Annie interjected.

"I would love to, Darling, but I don't want to intrude on you and your father," Annabeth said. I looked at Annabeth. We had a quick silent conversation.

"It wouldn't be intruding, Ms. Chase," I smiled.

"All right, but don't be too long, girls," she told them. They smiled and scurried to Annie's room.

"You do know, they don't have a project?" I asked smiling.

"I know, but I get to spend more time with you. It's a win-win," she smiled. We sat down on the couch. She snuggled up to me as _You've Got Mail_ came on. Her blonde curls rested on my chest. Occasionally, she would look up to make sure she wasn't dreaming [her words]. When she would say that, I would smile and give her a soft kiss. I started to think about the fact that two days ago this would have been a moment out of my dreams, not reality. Once in a while, we would hear the squeaks of footsteps from the girls trying to spy on us. Annabeth didn't seem to care.

"What happens next?" she asked finally.

"I don't know, but I am going to try a date," I smiled.

"Are you busy Friday?" she asked.

"No, you?" I asked.

"Meet me at seven? My place," she smiled.

"Perfect," I kissed her forehead.

"Why do you keep kissing me?" she asked.

"I kiss you for each night I spend sleepless thinking about you," I smiled. I heard Annie 'aw' from the kitchen. Art came from the kitchen holding two sodas. She said she was sorry and ran with Annie back to her room.

"What will we do if this doesn't work out?" she asked. I thought about it. That had been haunting me all day. I didn't know the answer.

"We will be best friends. Our daughters will still be best friends. But don't jinx it. I don't want to have to test those things," I said. She smiled.

"Neither do I. Trust me," she looked back at the movie, snuggling a little bit closer to me.


	6. First Date

CHAPTER 6

Annabeth's POV,

I looked at myself in the mirror one more time. I was wearing a black skinny jeans, a purple wrap top, and a gray cardigan. Art told me I looked great, but I couldn't stop thinking I didn't look good enough. I applied a quick layer of lipstick. I fiddled with my charm bracelet nervously. It was Friday. Everything Percy and I had depended on this night. My mind continued to thing things like: "What if we don't hit it off? What if I'm too boring? What if we realize we don't like each other?" and the worst: "What if Art and Annie decide they don't like us dating?". I heard a knock on the door. I went to answer it.

"Sorry. I know I'm early," Mia smiled at the door. She was barely showing signs of being pregnant with twins. Her brown-red hair was down, and she looked like she was still twenty. She walked in.

"No worries. How is Malcolm? Did he leave all right?" I asked her.

"He's fine as much as I know. He left for the airport an hour ago," she told me.

"Aunt Mia," Art ran to give her a hug.

"Hey there, Sweetie. Is Annie here yet?" Mia gave Art a kiss on the forehead.

"Not yet," Art smiled.

"So, Annabeth, you have a very special evening tonight," Mia smiled. I did the same. Art ran back to her room to get the blankets for them.

"I suppose," I said.

"Just to be sure, it's all right that I stay tonight?" she asked.

"Of course," I said. She sighed with relief.

"Good. Now, will you be spending the night with him?" she asked. I thought about an answer, but I didn't get to finally resolve to one. A knock on my door rang through the room. I felt my stomach flip. I opened it to find Percy and Annie at the door.

"Hey there, Hun," I gave Annie a hug, "Artemis is in her room, but will be out soon."

"Annie, the three of us are going to have so much fun," Mia said. Annie went to talk with Mia.

"Ready?" Percy asked. My stomach did a double flip.

"Sure. Art, see you later," I said.

"Bye, Mom," I heard her say back. Percy smiled as I walked into the hall and closed the door behind me. He didn't seem to be very nervous.

"So, Seaweed Brain, what time does the movie start?" I asked.

"Fifteen minutes. Annabeth, are you okay? You seem nervous," he told me.

"I am nervous. Why shouldn't I be? I am with the cutest guy in New York. What if we stumble upon beautiful women who want you for themselves?" I smiled jokingly.

"Well, as it just so happens, I have the most beautiful woman in the world with me. They would know they have no chance," he smiled. I felt myself start to relax. We made our way to the theater. I snuggled up to Percy as the comedy continued. His arm was around me. I smiled.

"Great movie. You made a perfect choice," I smiled as we walked out of the theater.

"Now, to dinner. Where to?" he asked.

"What kind of food?" I asked.

"Italian," we answered at the same time. We laughed and chose _Sal's Pizza_, a small place where they pack you into a small restaurant ,but has the best food in almost all of New York. We scored a table after fifteen minutes of waiting. We decided to get a large pizza.

"So, how is Art? Did she take losing well?" he asked

"She was a little upset, but was even more happier that Annie won," I said, taking a sip of the wine.

"By the way, have you seen Zak recently?" he asked.

"Yes, actually. He came over yesterday to work on a project," I smiled.

"Here's your pizza," the waitress put the large pan on our table. We dug in. Percy paid the bill, though we did banter over who should pay. When we walked out of the restaurant, it was nine thirty. We walked with his arm around me. We reached the apartment building

"You okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine. I wonder how the girls are," he said.

"They're with Mia. Most likely, they are devouring pizza and watching _Legally Blonde_ again and again," I smiled.

Percy's POV,

"I'll call you tomorrow," I kissed Annabeth. We reluctantly released each other. We sighed as she opened the door. The three girls were lying on blankets eating pizza and watching movies. They looked up at us. Annie and Art got up from the bed and ran to hug us both.

"How'd it go? How'd it go?" they asked excitedly.

"It went fine, girls. We missed you," Annabeth gave the girls a kiss on the cheek.

"Yay!" they smiled.

"All right, Annie. It's bed time," I told Annie.

"Oh, but, Dad, can I stay? Puh-lease?" Annie asked.

"If she can, it would be fine by me," Annabeth told me.

"All right. Be a good girl. If you don't, I'm sending you to spend a weekend with Clarisse," I joked.

"Thank you, Daddy," the most important girl in my life, Annie, gave me a hug. I gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"See you all tomorrow," I gave Annabeth a kiss on the cheek.

"G'bye, Percy," Mia told me as I left.

"Tell Malcolm I said hi," I told them before leaving.

**sorry about short POV. I have writers block [AGAIN!]. I'm a girl so it is hard to write from a boy's POV.**

Artemis's POV,

"All right, who was the Jamestown leader that punished if the people of Jamestown didn't work?" Zak asked me.

"Lord De La Warr," I answered.

"Correct," he told me. Simple Plan's "Welcome to My Life" started to play from is phone. He whipped it out.

"Let me guess. Is it your annoying little twit of a girlfriend?" I asked.

"She isn't that bad," he defended for her as he read the text.

"She called me a loser to my face!" I argued.

"And you stepped on her foot, called her names, and tried to punch her to get back at her," he defended again.

"You shouldn't have stopped me," I said. He looked up.

"Art," he did his serious voice. He didn't have to finish.

"I know. I know. Humans are don't realize what they do, an I should work on my temper," I said.

"If you got to know her, you would love Marnie," he said. I mumbled an Ancient Greek curse word.

"Come on. We're meeting Nikki and Marnie in five minutes at the coffee shop," he told me. We got up from our seats at the school library. We grabbed our bags and books.

"Have you spoken to Mia recently?" I asked.

"Yeah, she and Malcolm are really happy. She called me over to help pick out names," he told me.

"She's great. How has _it _been?" I spoke it as if it were a disease. He sighed.

"Marnie is not that bad," he told me.

"Fine, are you ready for the science test?" I asked as we started to walk down the marble hallway. My sneakers made the only sound in the hallway. Zak walked with dead silence. He was the best person for a fight.

"I guess. So, I hear the Hunters asked you," he brought up the subject we never talked about. I looked down at my black and blue sneakers. We walked in silence for a minute or two.

"They did," I simply said.

"What did you say?" he asked nervously. I felt the tension separate us, though we were walking inches away from each other.

"I said I'd think about it. My mom said I should do what my heart tells me. She told me she was offered, and her heart told her no. And thanks to that, she had me," I said.

"Your mom has a point," he simply told me.

"Why don't you want me in it?" I asked.

"I don't know," he told me not meeting my gaze.

"Whatever. Come on. If we're late, I'm telling Nikki to blame you," I told him. He smiled his perfectly white smile as I dragged him along.

**[That last part was to incorporate the kids more as I plan to do more of]**

Annabeth's POV,

I felt a shiver run down my spine as my bare foot made contact with the cold concrete floor of my terrace. The sounds of cars zooming by filled the air underneath me. People walked beneath me, as if the people beside them were nothing. I envied the simple human life. They didn't have all of this to deal with. They don't have to watch out when they say something or do something in case it offends the gods. I heard the sound of my daughter studying with Nikki and Zak in my living room. I smiled at the memories of being their age. I hadn't met Percy yet, and Luke occupied almost everyday of my summers. I shook off the thoughts of the last day I spoke to Luke. The day he asked me if I loved him, and I said no. The day I officially fell in love with Percy Jackson. I smiled at the thought of him.

"Mom, are you okay?" my daughter asked fro behind me. I was so caught up in memories I didn't notice her coming out into the brisk winter weather.

"Hey, Darling. I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I asked as I tried to pull a comforting smile onto my unconvinced face.

"You came out here thirty minutes ago, and you've been staring into space," she answered.

"Sorry, Hun. I am just remembering something," I tried to reassure my daughter so she doesn't think her mom is going insane.

"So, Annie says that Mr. Jackson really likes you," she smiled.

"All right. Hey, why isn't Annie here?" I asked.

"She and Zak had a fight," she didn't go into details, and I understood why.

"You better get back to them," I told her.

" Okay," she walked back inside. I felt the chill of the night start to set in. My cell phone beeped.

"Annabeth, did you get the fax I sent you for the new account?" Malcolm asked.

"I did. The client wants it to be like a Greek temple. Tomorrow we can work on it. I have to go. Tell Mia I said hi. Oh, and don't name one of the twins Mithia," I said back into the phone. He laughed, and we hung up. The rest of the night went as usual. I went to bed as soon as Nikki and Zak headed home.

"_I miss the freedom," I was in Rachel's office. She runs a major charity. She sat at her desk looking over the New York City skyline. She and I had once had these conversations. Rachel was talking about being able to date. She had given that up to be the Oracle. She was drawing in her green little sketch pad._

"_I envy them," she said. My dream pushed me to the table. She was drawing a couple with two children. They each seemed to be with one child. I looked closer at the drawing. I gasped. _

"_Percy and Annabeth. I remember when we all thought it would be Rachel and Percy. Well, they have their trails coming soon. We'll see if they make it."_

**Now, I want to know this. Do you want long chapters every once in a while or short chapters every few days? **

**I want all comments, good or bad, but when you write a comment remember I spent a lot of time working on this, and it takes a lot of courage to post something. I do want to know what you think though. And lastly don't comment unless you've read it all. I had a comment that was about something in the first chapter that I fixed in the second. **


	7. Merry Christmas!

Chapter 7,

Annabeth's POV,

"Who is Ke$ha?" Percy asked me. We were sitting on my couch reviewing the things we hadn't already bought our eleven year olds for Christmas.

"A pop singer. She is pretty good. Why do you ask?" I asked still looking at Art's Christmas list.

"Annie keeps playing her songs. I saw it on the bill for itunes," he told me.

"Oh. Hey, do you know what a X-5 skateboard is?" I asked.

"Only the most awesome skateboard. Art wants one?" he asked.

"Yup. Zak got her into skateboarding," I told him.

"Well, are we going to the mall or internet?" he asked.

"Do I look like I want to overpay for a skateboard in a store?" I asked.

"Internet it is," he told me. We got out our laptops and credit cards. We spent almost an hour shopping.

"All done," I closed the laptop and folded up the list.

"Same here. Now what?" he asked me. The girls were at Mia's helping Malcolm put together something for the twins.

"How about we watch an old classic and snuggle on the couch?" I asked.

"Sounds perfect. Just don't tell someone I snuggled," he smiled.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe. You make the popcorn," I got up and headed to the movie selection. I riffled through them until I came to _Boatniks_. I slipped the old movie into the Blu-ray player. Percy returned with a bowl of popcorn. The movie started to play on the thin flat screen.

"Popcorn, Wise Girl," he put the popcorn to down as he sat down. I sat beside him and cuddled my way up to him. He smiled as I laid my head on his chest. My mind went back to the dreams I keep having. I always would stand surrounded by black. Below were two bowls of water. They both had a picture in them. One was of Percy and I smiling and leaning in for a kiss. We seemed to be older. The other was us, but in different places. He and Annie were walking down Times Square, and Artemis and I were walking in the Mall in DC. We seemed to be happy, but a little alone. A woman I recognized as Aphrodite would look at me and say, "Make your choice, Annabeth." I would immediately wake up.

"What's wrong?" he asked me, looking worried.

"Nothing really. Just bad dreams," I tried to smile. He looked at me as if asking what they were about.

"Same here," he told me. I became interested in what his dreams about, but I knew if I wasn't going to tell, neither was he. We went back to the movie, but by the end we were making out on the couch. I heard a knock from the door.

"I'll get it," I told Percy as we stopped kissing. I pulled my blonde curls into a bun as I went to the door. I opened the door.

"Hey, Zak," I told the Zak and Art before they walked into the door. Percy was working away on his laptop. I smiled.

"Hey, Miss Chase," he smiled.

"Mom, have you seen my skateboard?" Art asked.

"You mean the two I found on the terrace?" I handed her two skateboards.

"I told you I left it here," Zak told her. She rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, Mom. Now, Zak, you still think you can beat me on the half-pipe?" she asked as if daring him to answer.

"No, I know I can beat you," he countered.

"You are so dead. I hope you know that," she walked out of the apartment to the skate park with him.

"Do you remember when that was us?" Percy asked.

"I thought we said no more 'We're-Old' talks," I smiled as I sat back on the couch. The way he smiled at me reminded me of the dreams. I tried to shake off that thought as we leaned into a long sweet kiss. His salty lips met mine. I felt utter bliss. We stopped kissing but didn't move. Our foreheads were pressed against each other. A smile covered my face.

"You are perfect," he told me smiling.

"I would say you're wrong, but the truth is I feel the same way with you," I said. I felt like we were twenty again. When he looks at me, I feel my heart skip a beat. He leaned in again. This time we kissed for what felt like hours. Finally, my landline rang. I sighed as I reached for it.

"Hello?" I asked into the small device.

"Hello, Miss Chase. I'm on my way home. Have you seen Art? I've been trying to call her for awhile," Annie said back.

"A little while ago she was going to the skate park. She's probably still there. When I see her, I'll tell her you called," I said back.

"Thanks. I'll check there," she hung up.

"Annie is about to head home. She is stopping at the skate park first," I told Percy.

"Thanks. See you soon," he gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving. I sighed, as I felt my heart slightly drop. I looked around the apartment. A bowl of half-finished popcorn and a blanket were all that remained of the visit. I started to clean up. I heard a slam from the door when I finished cleaning.

"Art, is that you?" I asked.

"It's me," she said with a twinge of anger in her voice.

"What happened?" I asked. She sat on the couch, and I sat beside her.

"Marnie! She told Zak I hit her! I didn't touch her! She made it up, and he believed her! Not me! I would have believed him if something like that happened," she let a tear fall down her rosy cheeks. I put a comforting hand on her leg.

"Darling, it'll be okay. He'll understand she lied sooner or later. You know that better than anyone. Hun, is there another reason?" I asked her. She looked at me.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You seem to really trust him. You don't tend to trust easily. Artemis, you seem to really like him. When I was your ago, I had a friend like that," I told her.

"Wait, you think I _like like_ him?" she asked me as if I had found the solution, but she would never tell me.

"Well, all I'm going to say is that I wouldn't admit when I really liked him. I kept it mostly to myself. It almost drove me crazy. I want you to know you can tell me anything," I told her smiling. She seemed to think that over. I started to get up to give her space.

"Mom, how did you get over it? Were you still friends?" she asked me.

"I kissed him. We are still friends. Actually, we are more than friends," I smiled.

"You mean it was-?" she started to say something but stopped.

"Percy Jackson," I answered.

Percy POV,

"So, why did we decide to decorate your tree first?" I asked Annabeth. We were standing in front of a green fresh tree. The girls were putting ornaments on the tree. I placed a glass Mickey Mouse on the tree.

"Because we had Thanksgiving at your place, we're having Christmas dinner here," she told me. Her gray eyes seemed to be thinking at a million things at once. That was something I loved about her. My lips curled into a smile. I stopped myself from pulling her closer to me.

"What are your plans for Christmas?" I asked her.

"My brothers, their family, and my dad are coming. What about you?," she told me putting another ornament on.

"Tyson, Mom, and Paul. By the way, have you finished wrapping?" I asked Annabeth. She inspected her tree as she answered.

"Almost. You?" she kept her focus on the tree.

"God, no. My mom said she'll help when she gets here," I said smiling.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she smiled back.

"Because you know everything," I answered.

"You may be right about that. But one of the many things I know is you can't resist mistletoe," she turned around holding mistletoe.

"I thought we said no kissing until the holidays were over," I smiled.

"Yes, we did, but this doesn't count. This is mistletoe. We have to," she smiled. I wrapped my arms around her. I looked into her mischievous gray eyes.

"Once again, I suppose you have statistics on your side," I said. Annabeth put her arm around my neck. We both closed our eyes. I felt a surge of happiness cover me as her lips met mine.

Annabeth's POV,

I finished the last of the cleaning. I was wearing a Christmas sweater, black heels, and black skinny jeans. I looked at myself in the mirror. Artemis was wearing jeans and a camp tee-shirt.

_relax, Annabeth. It's just your dad. And his wife. And their sons. Ah! Annabeth, calm down,_ I told myself. It was December 21. The day that is three days away from Christmas. The winter solstice. The day my family comes to town. I heard a knock at the door. I went to answer it.

"Dad," I hugged my father. One by one they came in after a hug.

"Annie," the last one, my half-brother, hugged me.

"Daniel, it is great to see you," I told him. We showed them to their rooms. Finally, it all settled down. My father and I were sitting on the couch watching an old Christmas movie.

"So, I hear from Art that you have a new boyfriend, and it is very serious," he smiled. I tried not to blush.

"Well, I suppose you heard correctly, but it isn't very serious. We've only been together for a little while," I said.

"But you love him," he said. I looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Annie, I've been in love before. I can tell you love him," he smiled. I tried to object, but I knew I couldn't, "What's his name?"

"You met him a long time. He is Percy Jackson," I told my dad.

"Oh, I remember him. You used to look at him like the stars that shine. Nice boy," he said. I felt a smile appear on my face.

**[I know the ending sucks, but the next chapter will be better. I promise. Please comment!]**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8, **

Percy's POV,

The thing I was planning to was to do is many of these things: nerve wracking, scary, and, yet, exciting. Annie and I were walking hand in hand. Artemis and her grandfather were also walking hand in hand.

"Annie, Art, over here," Zak called. We were in the park. They asked if they could go. We nodded, and I watched them run off. Artemis's grandfather and I sat down on a bench to watch them, but right now, I didn't see him as that. I saw him as Annabeth's dad.

"So, um… Mrs. Chase," I felt my voice slightly dry, "Um.. Annabeth is great-"

"Are you telling me, you're breaking up with her?" he cut me off.

"No, God no. Quite the opposite. I am in love with your daughter," I said quickly.

"I can tell. She seems to love you, too. Is there a reason you're telling me this?" he asked. This was it. My throat ran dry.

"I am asking to…"

_To be continued…._

Annabeth's POV,

"Mia, my darling, how have you been?" I asked as Mia came in. It was December 23, two more days. Everyone was out of the house. We were going to wrapping presents.

"I'm pregnant with twins. And my doctor says I'm lucky for my pregnancy is going well! You told me it was hard, but I didn't know that meant getting sick everyday," she said. I laughed as she sat down on the couch.

"How is Malcolm taking it?" I asked.

"Great, actually. I wake up each morning to a sweet kiss and a sweet smile. I've never seen him so happy. I mean, I even saw him at the first day at the firm," she smiled.

"That is great," I smiled. We continued to talk while we wrapped the last of the presents. Finally, we finished them all. The next thing I know, we are eating chocolate and talking about parenting. She is asking me about the toddler years.

"You have to watch your language all the time. You also always have to carry a camera in cause they have their first steps," I continued to list off things, and she listened intently. My dad walked into the room.

"Hey, Dad," I looked at him, "Where's Art?"

"With Zak and Annie. Percy is watching them," he seemed to smile as if he knew something I didn't.

"Dad, what is it?" I asked. He smiled.

"Nothing, Kiddo," he only called me that when something big was about to happen.

"Dad, we're adults. You can tell me," I told him trying to weasel it out. He didn't budge.

"Fine. I give up," I said almost two hours later. I heard the door open.

"We're here," I heard Artemis said. I went to the door to find Percy and the girls.

"I'm afraid I don't know either of you," one of my half-brothers, James, said.

"Oh, this is my best friend, Annie, and this is her dad, Mrs. Jackson," Art introduced. James and Percy talked for a minute. A beep came from the kitchen. Percy and I went to see what it was.

"What is that noise?" he asked me as we got into the kitchen.

"Cookies. Need help," I told him. He took the first pan of them out for me, and I took the second, "Thanks."

"No problem," he smiled. I looked around quickly. It was just us. His smile grew as we got closer. My mind went back to Camp Half-Blood.

"_You're not making this easy, you know," he told me. I smiled and got closer._

"_Seaweed Brain, I'll never make anything easy for you," I reached up and kissed him. We heard a cheer come from the side. Clarisse and the rest threw us in the lake. He gave me the best underwater kiss ever. _

I was awoken back to reality as his lips met mine. His arms were wrapped around me waist, and mine were around his neck. The rest of the world seemed to float away. It was almost as if we were the only ones in the world. As if the gods didn't plot this all, and we were normal.

"Wise Girl, I love you," he told me.

"I love you, too," I told him. His smile spread across his perfect lips. He seemed as though he was going to ask me something.

"Dad, are you ready?" I heard Annie ask.

"Yup, Kiddo," he smiled. He gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving. I smiled.

Percy's POV,

_Continued…_

I finally got it out. He looked at me. This was it. My entire life depended on this answer. He seemed to think it over. My stomach was churning. Sweat prickled my forehead. My fingers were going slightly numb, but I barely paid any attention.

"Well, Percy, thank you for asking. That shows a lot," he swallowed. I didn't say a word, "Annabeth loves you. I give you permission to propose to my daughter. When do you plan to ask?" he asked.

"I don't know. I want to ask the girls, too. They probably have it all picked out," I smiled. I felt on top of the world. Then, the a thought sent me free-falling. What if she said no?

**Thanks for reading. Now, I need help. How should he propose? Will the girls be okay with it? And, most importantly, will Annabeth say yes? Review ideas. **


	9. Yes or No?

**CHAPTER 9,**

I woke up on the couch. My arms were wrapped around Annabeth. We were at my apartment. The girls had fallen asleep on the floor on a bunch a blankets. I thought about getting up, but then I looked down at the sleeping Annabeth. It was the day after Christmas. I smiled as I rested on my head on the couch again. I licked my lips to find the taste of her lips still there. Memories came flooding back to me. The heartbreak of the ROMAN/GREEK thing was one of the worst. I remembered it all. I didn't even want to think about it.

"Annabeth?" I asked slightly sleepily. She looked up at me.

"Yes, Percy," she said. I looked at her with a smile on my face. My heart skipped a beat as her eyes met mine. I pulled her closer and tighter.

"Good morning," I kissed her forehead.

"Cartoons," I heard Annie mumble.

"And we're back on the clock," I sighed. I reluctantly let go of her, and we got up. We started breakfast. She made the pancakes, and I made the eggs and bacon. I watched her try to flip the pancake. We started to laugh as she almost dropped it.

"Try this," I put my arms around her. My hands rested on her hands. We tried to flip it again. It landed perfectly. She smiled.

"Guys?" the girls asked.

"We're in here. Breakfast is almost ready," Annabeth said. I smiled.

One hour later: "Have fun. Back in a few hours. Call me if anything goes wrong," Annabeth hugged the girls together. She then gave me a short kiss.

"Enjoy work," I told her. She smiled as she walked out of the white door. I looked at the girls.

"You said you wanted to talk?" Artemis asked. I nodded to the round kitchen table. They followed me and sat down.

"Girls, you know that Ms. Chase and I have been together for awhile," I started, "Well, I have decided to propose," the girls gasped.

"Finally!" they giggled. I bit my lip to stop from laughing.

"Well, I think you took that rather well," I smiled.

"Did you get the ring?" they asked. I pulled out a small black box. Inside, a silver ring with a large circular diamond in the middle and green emeralds surrounding it. Artemis gasped, but Annie inspected it before saying anything.

"Mr. Jackson, it is ah-mazing," Artemis smiled.

"It truly is, Dad," my daughter told me. I smiled.

"How are you going to do it?" Art asked.

"I don't know," I said. They looked at me.

"You should do it very romantically," Annie said.

"No, my mom doesn't like that. You should do something sentimental. But don't have a lot of people there," Art told me.

"You can't have it at your first kiss. Maybe you could have it at camp," Annie thought aloud.

"I guess he could," the girls continued to give me ideas.

Annabeth's POV,

"All right. Have fun with Uncle Malcolm. See you tomorrow," I kissed the girls on their foreheads. They told me goodbye. Percy and I walked our of the apartment building.

"Ready?" he asked me.

"Sure. Now, where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," he smiled. We got into the cab. I didn't pay much attention, thanks to the ADHD. Before I knew it, the car lurched to a stop. We were at the forest. It looked like the one to camp, but it wasn't. He paid the man and led me into the woods. I was carrying a basket. We stopped at a clearing before a lake.

"Where does this look familiar?" I asked.

"I took you here for our first date," he smiled.

"You remember that?" I asked surprised.

"How could I forget the first date I had with the girl I'm in love with?" he said. I almost blushed. He made a picnic. I smiled as we put it together. Two hours later, we are sitting on blankets watching the lakes water beat on the shore.

"You okay, Percy?" I asked. He seemed a bit nervous.

"No, not really. I have been thinking about when to do this for a while. But I think this is it," he smiled and turned to me. My mind was reeling about what he was about to say, "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, amazing architect, I am in utter love with you. When you love someone this much, there is only one thing to do," he pulled out a ring, "Will you marry me?"

My heart almost stopped. I looked at the ring. He looked at me hopefully. The breeze was chilling. The waves were the only sound. I knew what to say, but the words were stuck in my throat. This is was the moment I had always wondered about. His sea green eyes met mine.


	10. Annabeth's Story

PART ONE:

I was walking to work. I was now twenty-two. The fall leaves were falling on the sidewalk. I watched a couple pass me. My heart ached for that feeling I had once known. My last boyfriend had become a dead end. Honestly, I was still getting over a high school sweetheart.

_Annabeth, you are a grown up. Percy is simply an old friend,_ I scolded myself, but thinking about his name almost made it worse. My heart ached more. My mind was trying to control it with all its might. This had been my life for a long time. That was when I saw something I did not expect. A man with black messy hair, brown eyes, and grease across his jeans. It was Hephaestus. This was his younger, cuter form. He smiled as he saw me. I know that I had met him before, and I shouldn't fall for a man who sent metal spiders after me. But I didn't think like that. At the moment, I found myself smiling back.

PART TWO:

He was telling me about mechanics passionately. I was smiling. We were sitting together on my apartments couch. I was still twenty two. We had been together for almost three months. Hephaestus made me feel like nothing could bring me down. He could do anything for me. _Literally,_ anything. He is a god. Hephaestus could make anything to make me smile when I was upset. I knew I couldn't be with him forever, but I tried not to think about that. His arm was around me, and I had my head on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Wise Owl?" he asked me.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about when Aphrodite will make you leave," I said.

"She'll stop being with Ares for a few minutes in a few years and realize I'm not there," he smiled.

"I don't want you to leave," I said. I sounded like a three year old. He kissed my forehead.

"I don't want to leave, but…" he said.

"I know. You're a god," I said sadly.

PART THREE:

I was crying at home. A knock filled the air. I reluctantly went to get it. I opened the door.

"Annabeth, are you okay? What happened?" Hephaestus stood at the door. He walked in and hugged me. He held me worriedly. I cried into his shoulder.

"I'm…. we're…. you're…." I couldn't find words. He held me tighter. He must have know, "I'm not going to be alone anymore."

"I am so sorry, Annabeth. I am soo sorry," he kept repeating that.

"What's there to be sorry about? I wont be alone forever. It isn't your fault. It was my choice, remember," I tried to smile. He looked into my gray eyes.

"Annie, this is why I always loved you. I will always love you," he kissed me. The tears continued to fall. Hephaestus had told me the rules of being with a god. Once you were pregnant, the god was required to leave.


	11. Percy's Story

PERCY'S STORY,

Part One:

"_I love you, Annabeth," I cupped my hands around her face. She smiled._

"_I love you, too, Percy," Annabeth's stormy gray eyes met mine. She kissed me. _

"Beep. Beep. Beep," my alarm clock tore me out of the dream. I sighed as I realized that the fact that dream was a memory from when we were sixteen. She wasn't coming back. She probably had a boyfriend. Maybe she was getting married. I didn't know. That was the worst part. The only thing I could do was look at the sky and dream of one day seeing her. I closed my eyes as tight as I could, trying to make her face disappear from my mind.

"I'll be okay. She was just a girlfriend," I tried to convince myself. I quickly got ready for work. It went the same as it always did. I finally finished and headed to get drinks with some friends. It was my twenty second birthday.

"Just go talk to her," my friend told me.

"Fine," I got up and made my way to a girl with a black braid entwined with gold, a sparkly black minidress, and black four inch pumps.

"Hi, I'm Percy," I introduced myself.

"And I'm Hecate, goddess of magic."

Part Two:

We talking on the couch. I was lying on the couch with my arms wrapped around her. Her black hair was pushed up on my blue baseball tee. Somehow I had tricked her into liking me. She was smiling and telling me a crazy story. I was smiling. The world seemed to be mine. For once, I wasn't just pretending to be happy. She made me happy.

"Nice story," I complimented. She smiled and reached up to kiss me. I kissed back.

"We cant stay like this forever you know," she told me.

"You have got to stop thinking about that," I kissed her again.

Part Three:

"Happy Birthday, Percy," Hecate seemed nervous. The small birthday party was over, and it was just us. She wasn't smiling like she usually was. The sparkle in her eye was gone. I pulled her into an embrace.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Percy, I'm not going to ruin your day," she said.

"If I know that something is bothering you, it is already ruined," I told her. She looked at me with a worried look in her eyes.

"I'm about to lay a lot of responsibility on you," a tear slid down her face. I wiped away the tear.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm pregnant."

**Sorry it is so short**


	12. The Answer

Percy's POV,

**[REAL TIME]**

I still was wrapping my mind around what had happened last night. I took a sip of my coffee. I've known Annabeth forever, and that was the answer she gave me. I looked at the apartment that had stayed the same, but I hadn't. We hadn't. I heard a sound from the hall. Annabeth padded in. The ring rested on her manicured finger.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Tripped in the bedroom," she smiled.

"How'd you sleep?" I asked pulling her into an embrace.

"How do you think?" she smiled and kissed me. I finally got her. She was finally almost mine. The whole almost thing was still slightly annoying, but I was close. All we needed was some plans, and the girl I had dreamed about since I was twelve would be mine.

"I love you," I smiled.

"I noticed. Come on, Seaweed Brain. We have to go pick up the girls," she smiled.

"Your mom is going to kill me, isn't she?" I said.

"How'd ya' guess, Honey?" she gave me a quick kiss and grabbed a cup of coffee. She was wearing the same jeans from last night and a shirt she had left here. She was practically glowing, as we walked hand-in-hand to Malcolm's. I felt like I was twenty again.

"Who tells the parents?" I asked.

"We do it together. Maybe the gods wont care and wont want to know," she told me.

"What's the plan for who lives where?" I asked.

"The girls will pick out," she smiled.

"We're really doing this. Aren't we?" I pulled her closer.

"We are. I am going to be Annabeth Jackson," she smiled again. I smiled along with her, "Or would it be Blowfis?" she joked.

"Not even funny," I told her as we knocked on the door . A barely showing Mia opened the door. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she looked like one of the kids, not the adult. Annie appeared behind her, with her black hair in a French braid. And Art appeared behind her as well

"Thanks for watching them," I told Mia.

"It was a lot of fun, and it was great practice," Mia smiled.

"We still owe you. Tell Malcolm I said thanks," Annabeth told her. The girls came back with their bags, and we left. Annie held my hand, and Art held Annabeth's. That was when Art noticed it.

"Mom? Is this a…?" Art asked. Annabeth smiled, and that was the only answer they needed.

"Dad? Did you….?" Annie asked me. I nodded yes. They squealed with delight. The girls spend the entire rest of the walk talking. I savored this moment. Before we knew it, the girls would leave for college. Sadly, we reached split up point. Annabeth gave me a quick kiss before leaving for her apartment. Annie pulled me off to the apartment.

Annabeth's POV,

"Girls, okay, final question. What's the plan for who lives where?" I asked. We were at Percy's apartment.

"That needs some more thought," they told us.

"Okay. Now, do you want to come with us to tell Annie's grandmother?" I asked.

"No," they shook their heads.

"All right," I smiled. Percy was holding my hand. I looked down at the ring. It was beautiful. It was what I had dream about all of my life. Since the day I saw his sea green eyes, I had hoped this would happen. Well, not just like this, but him wanting to marry me. I was thirty-four, with an eleven year old daughter, a perfect job, and engaged. It all felt perfect as Percy pulled me a little closer.

**sorry 4 short chapter. Writers Block**


	13. Mommy Dearest

Annabeth's POV,

I was taping up the last box. Artemis had packed days ago. Strangely, she seemed excited about the move. It still felt hard moving. I had taken pictures of almost all of the rooms for when she grew up. I had lived here when I was with her dad. Artemis was brought home here from the hospital. I felt slightly bad for making her move. It was February 3. We had a few more months until the wedding. I still wonder if we should've waited a bit longer for the wedding, but when I saw his smile, I felt almost smart for getting married so fast.

"Mom, the truck is all packed. Time to go," Artemis told me. That was it. I looked around the room. We didn't get attached to furniture. So, almost all of it was being sold with the apartment. All of Art's room was being moved, and all of the important things to us had moved as well. Everything, but this load, was there.

"Coming," I picked up the small box I was taping close. I followed Artemis out of the apartment.

FOUR HOURS LATER:

"And that was the last box," I sat down on the couch, tired.

"Thank God," Percy sat beside me, with a look of defeat spread across his face.

"Where is Annie?" I asked.

"Helping Artemis with her room," he answered.

"They're taking it pretty well," I smiled.

"Thank the gods," he smiled.

"Is that your new answer to everything?" I asked.

"Not everything," he gave me a congrats kiss.

"Aw," I heard Annie's voice say. We looked up.

"Annie, you have got to stop doing that," Art pulled Annie down the hall. Percy and I laughed.

"Where were we?" I asked smiling. He pulled me in for a long kiss.

"God, I'm tired. Good night," he kissed my cheek.

"Good night," I smiled and watched him go to our room. Our room. That was going to take some getting used to. All of this would. The fact that I was now living five extra minutes away from work. The fact that my closet space has been limited. And the fact that when I wake up, Percy will be right beside me.

I pulled out my laptop and started to work on a presentation for work. It was midnight by the time I was finished. The girls had come in and said goodnight a long time ago. I yawned as I crept to the bedroom. I quickly changed and slid into bed. He was fast asleep. I smiled.

Percy's POV,

I was washing the dishes. Annabeth was helping me. She was also telling me about some building she is making. Right in the middle of it, I hear a voice.

"Grandmother?" it was Art's voice.

"Hey, Sweetheart," a sickeningly familiar voice followed. My stomach flipped, and my palms got sweaty. Annabeth and I exchanged glances. She ran off to the room where the voice had come from, and I nervously followed.

"Mom?" Annabeth asked surprised.

"Hello, Annabeth," Athena and Annabeth hugged.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Annabeth asked.

"Darling, we need to talk. Percy, please come with," Athena walked with her daughter to the kitchen. I followed behind. Athena hated me, and the feeling was slightly mutual. Athena closed the door behind her, so the girls couldn't hear.

"All right, Annabeth, why are you living with this pig?" Athena asked with her arms crossed. Her grey eyes looked at her daughter but never left me. A sign of disgust filled her eyes.

"Mother-" Annabeth tried.

"I want an explanation. Is he holding you captive? Did he threaten Artemis's life? Well, what is it?" Athena cut her off.

"Mother!" Annabeth yelled. She then remembered the girls were still here, "Mother, Percy hasn't forced me in any way to move in with him," Annabeth's voice was quieter.

"Then why are you here?" Athena's arms stayed cross. Her eyes still burned with hate, but then I saw something in her. She was a worried mother, looking out for her daughter.

"Mom, Percy and I are getting married," Annabeth told her. The air was filled with silence. No one uttered a word. Athena's eyes had changed. Her gray eyes now where a mix between two feelings, Sadness and Hate. I expected all Hades to let loose, but nothing happened. We just stood there. No one yelled. No one smiled. It was almost as if we were all strangers tossed in a room together.

"How long has this been planned?" Athena finally asked. Her voice sounded full of pain.

"A month," Annabeth answered. I didn't dare say a word.

"Why didn't you tell me? I was barely aware you two were dating until Aphrodite came to me," Athena asked. Her voice wasn't harsh, but it still hurt like a knife. She wasn't threatening me. She wasn't even acting like I was there. But her voice hurt more than any voice I've ever heard. Her voice sounded as if we had hurt her where it could never be healed, her heart., and we sort of had.

"We thought you wouldn't take it well," Annabeth told her. I felt guilt burden my shoulders, even though I had done nothing wrong. All I had done was fallen in love.

"Annabeth, we need to talk about this another time. Tell my granddaughter I said goodbye," Athena left. Annabeth pulled me into a hug.

"You okay?" I asked here.

"I know we did nothing wrong, but I still feel guilty," she told me.

"I know. It'll be okay," I kissed the top of her head. She pushed her face into my chest.


	14. The Wedding

Annabeth's POV,

I bit my lip as I looked in the mirror. A girl with long, blond girls looked back. A sweet ball gown hung around her. Behind her, a petite woman was working on making her curls look even curlier. The small room smelled like the overpowering smell of new perfume. The smell was enough to make you sick, but add on the nerves of a future bride and not being able to eat until the reception. Then you will fell like I felt right then. There were no seating charts or florist to approve of. Everything was ready. Maybe that was what made me the most uneasy.

"Fifteen minutes!" Jackie warned us all. Fifteen. It amazed me how only a number could make me even more nervous. My mom had already tried to talk me out of this, but I didn't budge. I hadn't seen Percy all day. Artemis and Mia had dragged me out of bed at six. Percy, on the other hand, slept until around nine. My dad was, at the moment, getting some air. An hour ago, it had really hit him that I was getting married. My step-mother was with him. She had always been fond of me, but I had never been quite the same to her until Art was born. Speaking of Art, she had finished getting ready a while ago. She, unlike Annie, had decided to catch up on her reading. Annie was still fashioning her curls.

"All done, Sweetie," the hairdresser told me.

"Thanks," I smiled as I got up. My curls felt hot against my neck. I looked around the room.

"Annabeth?" my dad's voice asked. I looked around. I found him standing by the door. I walked towards him.

"Yes, Dad?" I asked.

"Good luck, Sweetheart. I love you," he gave me a hug.

"I love you, too, Dad," I told him in the middle of the hug.

"I can't believe my little girl is growing up," he smiled.

"I've been grown up, Dad," I smiled.

"I know. I'm just still can't believe you're getting married," my dad looked at me as if he was remembering when I was younger, and I realized he was.

"Time to line up, everyone!" my maid of honor yelled. I followed my dad to the back of the line. The doors swung open. The scent of fresh tulips filled the air. One by one each of my bridesmaids walked out of the door. I started to walk with my dad out of the door. The humid air felt sweet on my skin. I felt every nerve start to slip away. My heels lowered as the met the white rug on top of the lush grass. My fresh curls ruffled in the breeze. The world felt like it was slipping away as I looked up at the face smiling at me. My eyes met his sea green. A spark ran through my entire body. My face, that had taken almost an hour to cover in make-up, lit up. I will never forget the smile he gave me.

Percy's POV,

I handed Annabeth the champagne. An old song started to play from the speakers.

"Annabeth," a cold voice asked. I almost froze.

"Mother," Annabeth gave Athena a hug. We had all been surprised when she actually showed up to the wedding.

"You look wonderful, Sweetheart," Athena smiled. She looked about the age of her daughter. Her matching blonde hair was wavy and down. Her cold, gray eyes looked at me.

"I didn't approve of this marriage, but that didn't stop you. I just want to tell you both good luck," she gave me a glare that told me 'Hurt-Her-And-I'll-Kill-You'. I wanted to cower behind one of the many guest. She then looked back at Annabeth with a warm look in her eyes.

"Love you, Darling. I'll see you soon," Athena smiled at her daughter before walking away.

"Some one made her do that. Didn't they?" I asked.

"Most likely," Annabeth smiled. Annie ran over to us.

"Time to throw the bouquet," Annie smiled.

"Where's Art?" Annabeth asked.

"I last saw her with Zak and Nikki," Annie answered.

"Of course," she rolled her eyes, "Back soon," Annabeth gave me a quick kiss before running off with Annie.

"Good luck," I called after her.

"One left. We only have one left," my friends came up to me.

"I know. I know. I need to get married. You're turning into my mother," Jack complained.

**Sorry. I know it is really weird. When I started this, I promised I wouldn't fall of the face of the earth, but I did. I am really sorry. I plan to continue this story. Just keep tuning in. **


	15. Big News

Annabeth's POV,

"Who's a good baby?" I smiled at the baby girl I held in my arms.

"Malcolm says she looks like me. I don't see it. Do you?" Mia asked me while putting the other twin, Charlie, into his crib.

"To me she looks like both of you, but Charlie is Malcolm," I told her. The twins were fourteen months old now. Annie and Art loved the twins actually asked us to let them babysit.

"Oh, no question," Mia told me. I put Melody into the other crib beside Charlie's.

"So, how is Malcolm taking being a dad?" I asked Mia. Her glow had started to fade, but she still looked fantastic.

"Pretty well. How is newly married life? God, I miss it," she smiled.

"Great," I answered.

"It's been five minutes," she told me. I sighed nervously as I picked back up the small, silver device. My gray eyes looked down at it.

"Oh. My. God."

Percy's POV,

Following the sound of the door opening Annabeth's voice called out, "I'm home," she laid her keys on the table before walking into the kitchen. I continued to chop the yellow peppers.

"How was work?" I asked her.

"Fine," she wrapped her arms around my waist and dug her face into my back.

"You okay?" I asked as I turned around to where her face was buried in my chest. She looked up at me.

"I'll be fine," she smiled before reaching up to kiss me, "How was your day?"

"Fine. Someone is having moodswings," I mumbled as she let go and grabbed a glass of water. I looked at her suspiciously. Then I noticed the green shopping bag.

"More books?" I asked while going back to chopping the peppers.

"Actually, this is something you might like," she told me.

"I highly doubt it," I told her.

"You never know," she smiled and walked over to the bag. I turned back to look at her. Her blonde hair was down, and a glow seemed to surround her.

"Annabeth, what are you hiding?" I asked.

"Why do I have to be hiding something? I could have just seen something you might like," she asked me.

"You could have, but you didn't," I smiled.

"Okay, I might be hiding something," she smiled as she walked up to me with the bag.

"Do you plan on telling me?" I smiled while asking.

"Here," she handed me the bag. I reached into the bag to find a large book. I pulled it out.

"An Expecting Father," I read aloud. I looked back up at Annabeth. She was smiling. My throat completely ran dry. My knees almost buckled, but I kept up straight.

"Are you sure?" I asked her. She looked into my eyes as she nodded yes. I felt like I was going to faint. Then I saw the look on her face. It seemed like it couldn't decide on if she should cry or smile. It was a crushing sight. It was even worse than seeing Hades cry. Her gray eyes looked deeply into mine. I'm not sure how long I stood just looking into her eyes, and Annabeth says she doesn't know either. All I know, is the fact I ended up scooping her into a hug. Annabeth let out the laugh I had loved since I was twelve.

"You're happy?" she asked me with a cocked eyebrow, unable to hide the joy in her voice.

"Don't give me that look. For your information, I am happy," I smiled back at her.

"You're insane, Seaweed Brain," she reached up to kiss me.

**sorry for short chapter. I wasn't sure how to do it. I had about ten ideas, and I've been writing and rewriting this for days. I had to randomly pick which idea, and I have a bad feeling I chose the wrong way to do it. I know Percy's reaction is really weird. I wasn't sure how to do it. [I'm still a tween girl for crying out loud!] Please, give a review. **

**By the way, some have wondered if this is the last chapter. No, it isn't. I'm going to follow Annabeth while she is pregnant, but I'll end it around there. Thank you for reading this far into it. **


	16. Month One

Percy's POV,

Well, Annabeth repeatedly told me this was going to be pure Hades, and I had thought she was just overreacting. It wasn't as bad as she said it would be, but I can assure you it was not the happiest of all times. Annabeth was already sort of demanding. Imagine her with an actual reason to be demanding. That was the first few months. Around the sixth, it got a whole lot easier. During the fourth month, I thanked the gods Hecate had left me out of her pregnancy. During the second month we fought a lot. Even if she started it, she would end up crying and running to the terrace for some air. I would then have to come out and apologize to her repeatedly. Her mood swings were awful. One minute she would be happy. The next she was crying. I would just stand there without a clue what to do. And let's not even bring up how bad Athena and her little visits were. Let's start with Month One.

ONE:Part One

"How are we going to tell the girls?" Annabeth asked me once again. The girls were coming home in one week. Annabeth was barely showing, but there was no doubt about the fact she was pregnant. The clock read 10:00 pm. Annabeth stood at the foot of the bed pulling her hair into a bun and pacing.

"The same way I told them I was proposing. We sit them down and just come out with it," I tried.

"Easy for you to say. Of course they wanted us to get married. For crying out loud, _they _brought us together. But a baby?" Annabeth slipped in between the sheets.

"Annabeth, you are overreacting. It'll be fine," I tried to tell her. Her gray eyes looked into mine with a look I knew all to well.

"Fine, then you tell them," she told me with her arms crossed across her gray tee shirt.

"If that will make you happy, I'll do it," I told her. Athena had given me countless pieces of advice [when she wasn't giving me death glares or getting mad at me]. One of her best pieces of advice happened to be the one I was using, ' do what she wants and don't make her mad'.

"Thank you," she gave me a kiss before turning off the lights and resting her head on the pillow. As I tried to sleep, all of Annabeth's worries about the Annie and Art's reactions started to set in.

_I am an idoit. _

**Sorry. I will do more. I just have to do a book report and wanted to get this posted so I could work on it without worrying about this. **


	17. The Reaction

**Well here goes nothing. Wish me luck.**

Percy's POV,

Annabeth was starting to get a slight bump, not that I was stupid enough to tell her that. Her titanium blonde hair was down. We were about to go to pick up the girls. Annabeth continued to type furiously on her blackberry. I wanted to roll my eyes, but Annabeth was already on edge. I didn't need to make anything anymore worse. It was a sweet summer day. The air was almost sickeningly clean, considering I was completely used to New York City. Annabeth turned off her blackberry as she got out of the cab. I still didn't know how to tell the girls. What do you say? 'You're about to have a new sibling!' Too creepy for me. 'Your mom is pregnant.' Too unconcerned. Or I could just let them figure it out? We did that when we got engaged. But somehow it still seemed wrong to use any of these.

"You remember our deal, right?" Annabeth asked me for the billionth time. I tried to pass off a smile, but the nerves were hidden underneath. She continued to look into the forest as if beyond it all of the doubts about Artemis and Annie's reactions would disappear. I took her hand that seemed to be ice cold even though it was summer. Her grey eyes looked up at me. She smiled at me as her steel grey eyes met mine. I found myself smiling back. We started to continue on to through the woods. I remembered running through here as a kid. Annabeth and I would race without a care in the world. Then she would get mad if I won and demand a rematch.

"See you next week," Artemis's voice came through the woods. From that I knew either she was talking to Nikki or Zak. We walked even closer to see Annie running up to be beside Artemis. Sweat prickled on Annie's forehead. Knowing her, she probably spent the entire morning saying goodbye and had to quickly pack.

"Hasta Lavista, Fire Boy," Annie told Zak.

"Mom," Artemis caught sight of us. She ran up to her mom.

"I missed you, Sweetheart," Annabeth told her daughter as she pulled Artemis into a hug.

"Dad!" Annie ran up to give me a hug.

"I missed you so much," I kissed the top of Annie's head as I pulled her into a hug.

"I missed you, too, Dad," Annie told me. Dad. That may have been a good time to spill, but I didn't.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Annabeth asked the girls. There went another moment I could have told them. I was awful at this.

"We're sure," Artemis told us while grabbing her bags and starting to walk. Annie followed along with her pink duffle. Zak had seemed to disappear, which happens to be something he does quite frequently. I suppose either Mia or his mom picked him up. The sun continued to beat down on us. Artemis's skin seemed to have received a tan along with her training, but Annie seemed to have been unlucky enough to get burned on the nose.

"How was your summer?" Annabeth asked the two thirteen year olds. Don't even get me started on the small breakdowns I had on both of their birthdays that marked becoming a teen. Let me just say it was not pretty. Annie started to tell all about their summer, with Artemis jumping in every so often as we got back in the yellow cab. I sat upfront after putting their bags in the trunk. Annabeth's pregnancy glow had kicked in and with her sweet smile plastered across her face, she looked even more beautiful [another fact I thought was impossible that she had proven the opposite to me]. You know how some things you see you never forget. The image of Annabeth, Artemis, and Annie all smiling and laughing became one of those things I'll remember until the day I'll die.

"How are the twins?" Artemis asked as we got out of the cab in front of the apartment building. The air felt crisper as I got the bags out of the trunk.

"Melody and Charlie are doing great," Annabeth answered with a smile. Another moment I could have told them passed as Annie and Art started talking about something else. I sighed as I followed the girls up to the apartment. Annabeth opened the door because my hands were full with the larger duffles the girls didn't want to carry. The white door swung easily. Annie and Artemis rushed in. I smiled as I followed in. Annie and Artemis giggly ran around the apartment.

"I missed home so much!" Annie smiled..

"All right. I'm heading to take a nap," Artemis called back.

"Same here," Annie called out. I smiled as I put the bags in their room before they both slipped off into slumber.

"Are they asleep?" Annabeth asked me as I came back into the kitchen. She held the pregnancy book in her hands as if asking if it was clear to read it. I nodded yes. She flipped to the page she had left off on in her book. A strange look passed over her face.

"Are you feeling all right?" I asked Annabeth.

"I'm fine. I'm just still getting used to the kicks," she placed a hand over her stomach.

"I can't imagine how a baby kicking you could feel," I smiled.

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked. I spun around to look for where the voice came from. Artemis stood there in her pijamas looking at both of us. My mouth ran dry. I looked at Annabeth. The look in her eyes told me something. _You are released from the deal. I'll tell her. _Annabeth got up from the stool she had been sitting on and walked over to Artemis. She got down to meet Artemis's gray eyes.

"Sweetheart, you're about to be a big sister," Annabeth smiled at her daughter. Artemis looked back into her mother's eyes before responding. A smile that reminded me of Annabeth's covered her face. Artemis hugged her mother.


	18. Month Three

Month 3:

Annabeth's POV,

"Goodmorning, Sweetheart," Percy kissed the top of my head. By now, my stomach was swelling by what felt like the day. The sun was streaming in my eyes from the bedroom window of the loft. Percy was already dressed for work, but I was still half asleep in bed. Today, I had work off due to some big rally in front of the office.

"Have fun," I smiled.

"Shut up," he leaned over to kiss me. I wanted to pull him down back to bed as his lips met mine.

"Are Art and Annie asleep?" I asked him as he got his blackberry out.

"They'll be asleep for a few more hours. So yes, you can sleep for a little while longer," he smiled at me.

"Oh shut up," I got up from the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me while placing a hand over the slight bump.

"I'm fine," I looked down at my swelling stomach that was covered by a grey tee shirt.

_Now be a good boy or girl, and don't kick mommy too much today,_ I mentally told the baby.

"I'll be home at five," he kissed my cheek. I followed him down the stairs to the front door.

"Do you have to go?" I whined.

"I'm afraid I do," he told me.

"Good luck, Honey,' I kissed him before he left. After he closed the door, I stood there awhile before hoing down the hall to the girl's room. I creaked the door open. Annie was basically passed out underneath silky, pink duvet. Artemis's blue eyes fluttered open.

"Mom? What's for breakfast?" she asked sleepily.

"What do you want?" I whispered back.

"Waffles," she answered still in a sleepy whisper.

"All right, Sweetheart," I smiled and silently closed the door behind me.

Percy's POV,

"What about Ansley?" I suggested a name. Annabeth sat beside me with Annie and Artemis beside her.

"I like that one. I'll add it to the girl list," Annabeth wrote the name down on the notepad she was holding. Annie and Artemis continued to search through names on their laptops.

"What about Rebecca?" Annie offered.

"Eh…" Artemis shrugged.

"What if it's a boy? So far we only have two boy names and around six girls,' I pointed out.

"Boy names are harder to come up with," Annabeth shrugged.

"Besides Dad, you seriously think you'll have enough boys to need more than three names?" Artemis looked up from her laptop.

"Very funny," I looked back down at the pregnancy book. Annabeth had told me that I didn't need to read it; but after only week of the mood swings, I started the book.

"Where's Zak?" Annabeth asked Artemis.

"Still getting over being dumped. He said that he'll just meet me at the theater," Artemis answered Annabeth.

"Poor boy," Annabeth said. I didn't say a word. I didn't dislike Zak, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the fact the son of Hades had a crush on my step-daughter.

"Speaking of that, we need to go," Annie and Artemis got up. They put up their laptops before grabbing their jackets.

"Have fun," Annabeth called out to them before the door closed behind the girls.

"What about Steven?" I asked Annabeth.

"Nah," she shook her head. Her gray eyes looked back at the book.

"How's the book?" I asked while slipping my arm around her. She smiled but didn't look up from the hardcover book.

"It's good. How's yours?" she asked me.

"So far, I don't get how you were able to get through even the first three weeks," I answered. She looked up with a smile.

"Sweetheart, duh," she kissed me.

Annabeth:

"Honey, you know I didn't mean it like that," Percy apologized. I looked up at him. Percy tried to get closer to me, but I backed up.

"No, I don't," I ran up the stairs to the bedroom with tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Annabeth," he chased after me. I slammed the door before he could get in.

"Annabeth, let me in. I'm sorry," he told me. I grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the bed. I opened the white door again. His face seemed to gain hope until he saw the pillow and blanket.

"Have fun sleeping on the couch," I handed it to him and closed the door once more in his face.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," he tried again, "Fine. We'll talk about it in the morning. I love you," he waited on a reply that didn't come. He sighed before walking down the stairs to the couch. I felt the guilt set in as I slipped into bed. I knew I would end up apologizing by morning, maybe even earlier, but I had a rule about waiting at least an hour to give in. I looked back down at my swelling stomach. Even more guilt set in.

**_AHHHH! I KNOW IT SUCKS. I HAVE A GREAT FINAL CHAPTER IN MIND, BUT I AM COMPLETELY DELAYING ENDING IT. I DONT WANT THIS TO END :[ PLEASE REVIEW WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO WRITE A STORY ABOUT ONCE THIS IS DONE._**


	19. Month 5

_Percy:_

_MONTH FIVE [I think]_

_Annabeth wasn't taking the whole swelling stomach very well. Then again, who would? Not the point here. It was only a few more days until Christmas. It would be our third Christmas together and our second as a family. Mom was, for the first time, on a cruise for Christmas. At the time she booked it, we didn't know Annabeth was pregnant. She now says that she feels guilty for missing it. Apparently, she couldn't get out of it. Annabeth's dad had invited us to California, but Annabeth said she wanted a small family Christmas. AKA, she didn't feel like getting on a plane, and it would take me forever to take a train. Annie, Artemis, and I were in the kitchen making the gingerbread house. Annabeth was in our room wrapping presents. Winter had set in, and I was dreading to see the heat bill. The sun had set an hour ago. On the kitchen table sat Artemis's social studies book. Zak had just left from her tutoring him, not that he truthfully seemed to need it. _

"_And done," Artemis said while taking a step back. I looked at it. It looked amazing. Artemis had inherited her mom's Architect gift. Gum drop columns held up the Parthenon-like gingerbread house. _

"_It looks amazing," Annabeth walked into the kitchen. She reached for a green apple. _

"_What do you think, Dad?" Annie asked me. _

"_I think it is the best gingerbread house in the world," I told them as I started to wash the icing off of my face from when we ended up having an icing fight with the extra icing. The two girls smiled._

"_How is Zak?" Annie asked Artemis. As I looked behind me at both of them, I saw Artemis do something I thought I would never see her do. Artemis blushed. _I stopped myself from gasping. Artemis did not blush. Annie blushed enough for both of them. Artemis was basically an Aremis Hunter just waiting to be recruited. That was the moment that made me realize her story of wanting to live a normal-ish live making her decline the Hunters was completely untrue. She had said no for Zak. 

"He's fine, I guess. As fine as a Zak can be," Art answered. She started to play with her blonde curls. I wanted to faint. Artemis did not play with her hair. 

"Someone has a crush on Zak," Annie smiled.

"You like Zak?" Artemis joked. Her smile reveled the answer to if she liked him. Annie rolled her eyes. 

"Oh shut up," Annie told Artemis. I looked at Annabeth. The look in her eyes told me she was thinking the same thing as me.

_Kids really do grow up to be like their parents. _

Annabeth:

"Can we get two coffees, one slice of angel cake, and one chocolate mousse?" Mia ordered at the small bistro. Her seventeen month olds were having quality time with their dad while the to of us finished our Christmas shopping. The waitress scribbled down the order and walked back to the kitchen. 

"So, how are you feeling?" Mia asked me. Her brown-red hair was pulled up in a ponytail. So far, she had lost almost all of the pregnancy weight from some of the tricks I had taught her from my first pregnancy.

"Not as bad as you felt, but around those lines," I answered. Mia smiled. 

"Nice to know. How is Percy? Being a good little daddy, I hope," Mia joked. 

"Pretty well. But he is kind of realizing the fact that Zak has a crush on Artemis. He isn't taking that too well," I answered.

"Aw, I always knew my little brother would start some trouble with who he likes. Like sister like brother," Mia smiled. 

"But Malcolm's dad loved you. The godly parents were the trouble for you two," I pointed out.

"Not the point," Mia waved it off. I laughed

"Now, to the serious part. Is it a boy or girl?" Mia asked excitedly. 

"Well, Percy didn't want to know," I shrugged. 

"That's crazy," Mia told me.

"I know, right?"

**I know it's short. I'm working on it. I'm not ready to end it. I'm even thinking about making a sequel. **


	20. Mia, Zak, and Nikki introduced

Artemis:

I sat in the kitchen while Mia went to look for her phone that had started going off a minute ago. She was teaching me how to bake even though, truthfully, neither of us knew how. This was honestly a distraction while Uncle Malcolm sets up for the fourth anniversary. I clearly remembered the wedding. I had always loved Mia. She was basically my Aunt, and for years, even before he proposed, I called her Aunt Mia. They had started dating in college [or maybe before. I can't remember] and were living together by the time I was born. It just seemed right at the time to call her that. Well, anyway, Uncle Malcolm decided that for once in their marriage, he should actually plan a surprise dinner for her. She wasn't a big romantic so this didn't happen, basically,…. ever. Annie was also here helping distract Aunt Mia, but she was, at the time, also looking for Mia's droid that was chirping. I, on the other hand, had the task of watching Melody and Charlie. You may ask why they named their son Charlie. Well, Beckondorf had been Aunt Mia's best friend up until his death. Malcolm, having been picked on as a young child, knew that was too long of a name. So, meet baby Charlie.

"Found it," Annie called out to Mia who was on the other side of the townhouse. Mia raced to the bedroom which was where Annie had found it. I wanted to laugh at the idea that they were freaking out over a phone, but I was too busy looking at the cute babies as they played with their toys in the little crib.

"Thank you, Sweetheart," she told Annie. Annie had quickly become a member of the family. We thought it would take awhile for her to get close to Uncle Malcolm and Aunt Mia, but it only took about a week. Mom and Dad were out of town. Grandmother [Sally Jackson] is picking us up at six. Mia still doesn't understand why we couldn't stay for the weekend, but she is going along with it.

"Where is Malcolm?" Mia walked to the island I was sitting at. She placed her droid 2 in its charger on the on the countertop. The sun was starting to set around her. Hades had just left. He was more around to his kids than the other Olympians, but you should see him around his grandchildren. I couldn't help myself. I had taken pictures for Zak of Hades with baby Melody. Because I knew Aunt Mia would see, I haven't sent the pictures yet. Malcolm had used the excuse of stopping by the office. That was two hours ago.

"He could still be at the office," Annie suggested, but she didn't even seem to buy it. Mia didn't comment, and I tried to do the same.

"Okay, so, we have," Mia looked at her watch, "Twenty minutes. Any ideas?" Mia smiled.

"Wait, weren't we supposed to take the brownies out at 5:30?" I asked. Mia turned around to the stove. With her bare hands, she pulled out the burned pan of brownies. The Daughter of Hades thing was a perk when it came to the kitchen.

"Oh god!" Mia put the pan on the countertop. I looked at her hands. Not one burn.

"Well, no brownies today," I smiled.

"I knew I would rub off on you someday," Mia placed her hand over her heart. The doorbell came from the door of the townhouse.

"That'll be your grandmother. Do you have your stuff?" Mia asked. She went to answer the door. I got off the barstool. Annie followed immediately, but I hung around for a second. I reached down to kiss the twins.

"Now, Melody, be a good girl, and don't try to burn your brother," I smiled as I left the room. The twins had inherited her powers over death. Melody had come into her powers sooner than Charlie had.

"Sweetheart, have fun, and send me a copy of those pictures you're sending to Zak," Mia hugged me and kissed me on the top of the head before I left. I smiled.

"Of course, Aunt Mia," I told her before I walked out to the porch where Annie and Grandmother stood.

Annie:

I sat on the bench at the skate park. I was wearing the cutest skater girl outfit I could think of in the fifteen minutes Artemis and Zak had given me. Art and Zak were about to get on the half-pipe, but at the moment, they were sitting beside me putting on their shin guards. Zak was still laughing at the pictures Art sent of Hades with Charlie and Melody.

"Next time my dad is making a fool of himself, call me," Zak told us. We laughed.

"Don't worry, you're on my speed dial in case such a thin happens again," I told him. Zak smiled. Artemis was also smiling, but then again, she was with Zak. The two had been a whole lot happier after Marnie dumped Zak. I had pretended not to notice. Then again, I _always _pretended not to notice. We all sort of did. Especially Nikki and me.

"Are you sure you don't want to try?" Artemis asked me as she and Zak started to get up. She held the X-5 skateboard at her side.

"Nah, I would prefer not to sprain my ankle today. Check with me tomorrow," I told her. She smiled.

"Fine. Come on, Fire Boy. You are about to get beaten on the half-pipe," Artemis told the son of Hades.

"Enjoy," I called to them as they walked to the ramp. I sat alone once again. I looked at the sights surrounding me. A few girls dotted the population of boys in the crowd. I tried to see if I knew anyone else here. Nikki was in Spain as we speak. Her cousin is getting married there. Her aunt is taking care of Nikki because her dad is an Archeologist. He travels way to often for a child to accompany him, much less a daughter of Hecate. Her aunt's only child moved to Spain five years ago, around the time Nikki moved in. CeCe's, Nikki's cousin, father left Nikki's aunt when CeCe was only six. He was reluctantly invited to the wedding.

"You're Annie, right?" a cute skater boy sat down beside me. I looked him. He walked with a slight limp that I'm guessing he got here.

"Yeah, um, how did you know that?" I asked nervously. Don't get me wrong. Cute boys talk to me, but they are usually jocks or something. Skater boys don't talk to me. He didn't seem to notice the nervousness in my voice.

"Artemis and Zak told me about you. Though Zak seemed to just want to get on the ramps," he told me.

"Sounds like Zak," I looked down. My raven black hair was slipping into my light green eyes. I pushed it behind my ear.

"So, I'm Joel," he told me.

"Nice to meet you, Joel," I looked at him. His curly brown hair complimented his big brown eyes. I felt myself almost blush.

**YOU ASKED FOR ME TO INTRODUCE NIKKI, ZAK, AND MIA. I HOPE THIS WORKED. :P**


	21. Month Nine

**Percy:**

**Annabeth was seven months pregnant. After a month of her trying to convince me to find out if it was a boy or girl, I gave in. Now, Annabeth was picking out names. Annie and Artemis were decorating the baby's room. Annabeth had tried to do some of it, but she eventually gave in and let them do it. It was my night to the dishes. I put the last dish on the drying rack before drying my hands. I threw away the paper towel. I stepped through the swinging, kitchen door. Annabeth was sitting on the terrace. I smiled as I looked at her. She was staring intently at the plans for a building. Zak, for the first time in days, wasn't here. Its not that I don't like the kid. I like him a thousand times better than some of the other boys in her school, but did he have to be a son of Hades? Couldn't I get a break with a son of Hermes, a kid who aspired to be a doctor or even better, a kid who didn't know that monsters were even real? Of course, I'm not that lucky. I started to walk out to the terrace. The brisk air met me. Annie had met some boy, Joel, I think. Well, he isn't too much better than Zak, but he is a slight step up. Sadly, he is a demigod. Apparently, the Aphrodite wasn't kidding when she said she would make life hard for me. **

"**Any good names?" I asked with a smile. Annabeth looked up at me.**

"**Dimitri?" Annabeth asked. **

"**Maybe," I sat down beside her. **

"**So, did Annie tell you about Joel, yet?" Annabeth smiled as she looked up at me. **

"**Not really. All I got was from when he came over for the study," I told her. **

"**Well, anyway, he's a nice boy. Well, as nice as a nice boy Annie will ever like," Annabeth told me.**

"**What about Artemis? A son of Hades?" I responded. **

"**Fine. Hopefully, this one will be better blessed by Aphrodite," Annabeth held her hands up in surrender. **

"**Speaking of this one, how are you feeling?" I asked with a hand over the bump. The baby was coming very soon. Everyone else was ready to just pop out that baby and raise it, but me. I know, it sounds crazy, but I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to become a new parent again. Don't get me wrong. I love Annabeth and this baby, but… how to put this? Basically, I'm scared.**

"**Like I'm going on that diet Mia went on after this is over," Annabeth smiled. I rolled my eyes.**

"**You look beautiful," I told her with a kiss on the cheek. She smiled.**

**Annabeth,**

"**Annabeth, look at this one," Mia pointed to a picture of yet another stroller. I know I'm supposed to be excited, but I've looked at stroller after stroller. How Mia did this for two babies, I'll never know. Besides, we chose a stroller months ago, but, apparently, we also need a back-up. Anyway, Artemis and Annie took most over the decorating, and I was overjoyed with this fact. Sure, it was fun when I was younger, and I really didn't have much else to do. Now, it isn't so much fun. I learned the hard way, they'll just grow out of it as soon as, if not before, you've paid it off. Annie and Artemis decided this was the exception to them doing the decorating. **

"**What about this one?" Annie pointed to another in the catalog. **

"**Knockidy, knock," Zak walked in. I wanted to run up and hug him for saving me from such a ritual of picking out random baby things that in my eyes look just alike. His black hair was cut, and his blue eyes shown out. **

"**Where's-" I started to ask, but I was cut off by the brunette boy walking in behind him. **

"**Joel, Zak, what are you doing here?" Artemis asked. Annie lit up and looked up as soon as she heard Joel's name. Mia and I looked at each other. Zak held up a social studies book in response. **

"**Oh yeah, I forgot. Mom, wait for us to pick out one. We'll be back in two hours from the library," Artemis got up with Annie following right behind her.**

"**Bye, Mrs. Jackson," Zak and Joel told me as the four left. I resisted the urge to follow them or send an Iris message that they can't see to spy on them.**

"**Bye, Boys," I called out to them.**

"**So, what's up with that Joel kid?" Mia asked once she was sure they were gone.**

"**I don't really know. He just kinda showed up. Now, Annie is pretty much addicted to him," I told her. Suddenly, I felt a kick to my stomach. Then it happened. **

"**Anna, are you okay?" Mia asked worriedly. **

"**Mia, I'm in labor."**

**A/N: Yup. This story is winding down. Who thinks it'll be another girl? :] I know, she was acting calm to have gone into labor, but I couldn't think of anything. Don't crucify me. Sheesh. :]**


	22. Meeting Beck and Even More Bad Dreams

**Artemis:**

I sat impatiently at Uncle Malcolm's. Just three hours ago, I had been sitting in the school library. Aunt Mia told me my mom was in labor. I, of course, demanded to come, but I found out where I got my stubbornness from. My mom ordered that I stay with Uncle Malcolm. We had tried to continue the study date, but we couldn't keep focused. By the end of it, Annie was flirting successfully with Joel, and Zak and I were listening to Boys Like Girls on my phone and reading off Fanfiction on his.

_I sat beside Zak in the green, plastic chairs. We both had a white earphone in one ear. My heart raced as my arm touched his when I leaned over to read the small print of the story Zak had read and decided I needed to read._

"_Awww," I placed my hand over my heart as I finished reading the small paragraph on the members profile. Zak looked at me with a smile._

"_You are insane," he told me. I crossed my arms across my grey button-up top. _

"_Look who's talking," I smiled and raised my eyebrows. Joel laughed, and Zak raised his eyebrows in response. _

"_Oh no you di-dn't," he said in the girlish voice that always eventually made me give in whenever I was mad because I would laugh too much. I couldn't help but let a laugh escape from my lips. Zak's blue eyes lit up as he laughed along. _

"_Hey, Malcolm will be here any minute," Annie told me. At first, I had completely forgotten. Then the idea that my sibling was being born and I couldn't meet it until tomorrow crept back into me. _

**Percy**:

Let me just say the ten hours Annabeth was in labor were pure Hades. Annabeth went through all the pain, and I had to watch knowing it was my fault. Annie and Artemis were with Malcolm. In my arms, I held the cutest baby boy. His little gray eyes were closed in sleep. I smiled. My son, Beckendorf Jackson. I had insisted on naming him Luke, but in the end, his name became Beck. We were home from the hospital by now.

"So, you're never going to let him go, are you?" Annabeth asked.

"I can't help it. He is my son after all," I told her. She smiled and looked at the baby in my arms.

"He looks so much like you," Annabeth told me.

"He looks like you, too," I responded.

"Malcolm will be here with Annie and Artemis anytime now," I told her.

"I know," she yawned.

"You need your rest. Go to bed, and I'll take care of them," I told her.

"Thank you," she kissed my cheek before going up the stairs to the bedroom. I started to walk around rocking the baby back and forth in my arms. The apartment was quiet as I walked around with Beck. I know, I should just put him in the crib upstairs, but I just wasn't ready to let go of him. He had Annabeth's grey eyes, my black hair, Annabeth's lips, and my nose. The doorbell rang. I ran over to answer it.

"Beck," Annie and Artemis rushed over to the baby I held in their arms. Malcolm walked in behind them.

"Congratulations, Percy. Where's Annabeth?" Malcolm asked me. I nodded upstairs.

"Asleep," I answered.

"All right. Say goodbye to your Uncle Malcolm," Malcolm told them.

"Goodbye, Uncle Malcolm," the girls hugged him.

"Thank you for watching them," I told Annabeth's half-brother.

"Welcome. Tell Annabeth to call me when she wakes up," Malcolm told me before he walked out of the apartment.

"I better put Beck to bed," I told the girls. They sighed.

Annabeth:

_I looked around the bedroom. I found that the picture of Annie on her first visit to the zoo, another of Percy holding Beck for the first time, and the picture of our wedding were all gone. I looked even closer. Everything that was Percy's was gone. I looked down at the bed to find that a note sat on the bed just waiting for me to read it. Shakily, I reached for the white piece of paper. My eyes strained as they quickly read it. My eyes became blurry as I read the last few lines Percy had written. I felt myself shrink to the ground as I put the paper down. _

_He was gone. _

I woke up to find my heart racing and tears streaming down my face. I quickly looked beside me. Percy was starting to wake up beside me.

"Annabeth?" he asked tiredly, "What's wrong?" he then noticed that tears were forming in my grey eyes. He pulled me down into a hug. My head rested on his blue tee shirt.

"It'll be okay," he told me. The tears started to get wearier and eventually stopped, "Now, what happened?" he asked me.

"I dreamed you left, and- considering most of our dreams come true," tears started to form in my eyes.

"Annabeth," he lifted my face to look into my eyes, "I love you, and no matter what Athena or anyone says. I would never, ever leave you," he told me.

"I love you, too," I told him. He smiled. The sounding cry from the room next door sounded around us. We sighed.

"I'll get it. You need to get back to sleep," he told me.

"Thank you," I responded.


	23. Just A Chapter

**Annabeth:**

"Annabeth?" Percy called out. I put Beck back in his crib and ran downstairs. I found Percy, Annie, and Artemis sitting at the kitchen table with Math books strewed around them.

"Yes?" I asked while controlling my laughter.

"Okay, Mom, Annie and I need help. Okay, so how do we find the Perimeter of this shape?" Artemis asked me. I sat down in the chair beside her.

"Okay, so, just draw a line here," I took a pencil and separated part of the shape, "Now, this shape is a rectangle, and this is a square," I pointed to the divided shape.

"Now, find the missing numbers, find the Perimeter for each one, and add it together," I told her. Percy looked as if even he was learning it. Okay, being a know-it-all has its perks.

"Thanks, Mom," Artemis smiled. I looked at her. Sweat was prickling from her forehead from being so frustrated, and she wore a look that said 'I-am-such-an-idiot-How-did-I-not-get-that-?' that her father used to wear all the time. I faked a convincing smile.

"Welcome, Sweetheart," I got up and ran once more up the stairs to the nursery. I stopped the tears that were forming in my grey eyes. Her dad. No matter how much Percy acts like her father, he isn't, and Annie isn't my daughter. Sure, we try to pretend that this happy little family is really blood-related family, and sometimes I even forget that we're not. But we aren't. Annie will always love Hecate more than me. I mean, of course she should. Hecate is Annie's mom. Silently I wonder if she was given the choice, would she choose her mom or me.

I looked down at my son who was merrily sleeping the day away, unaware that his mother was stopping herself from crying. I smiled as I ran my hand through his head of black hair. Okay, getting up in the middle of this night to answer the cries of a newborn is annoying, but just look at him. He looked so much like Percy. Sure, I wish that Artemis didn't have to be the only blonde child, but I love Beck's black hair. I looked at my black watch. Four o'clock on a Wednesday. Zak usually would be over here or Artemis would be meeting him at the skate park or something. The two spend more time together than even Percy and I did, and at their age, I tried to be with him as much as I could. Hopefully, it wont take them as long as it took me to kiss Percy which happened to be a good five years of having a crush on him. Yup, five whole years of being jealous every time another girl looked at him but not being able to tell him why I thought he should stay away from those girls. He took it as I didn't want him to get distracted from training. Sure that was it. [sarcastic to the extreme]

"You okay?" Percy asked from behind me. I slightly jumped at the surprise of his voice. I turned to see Percy smiling that cute smile at the door.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked.

"You ran out of there when you were given a pretty big chance to make fun of the fact I couldn't fin the perimeter of that shape," he answered. I nodded.

"Just started thinking about Art's dad," I said. He nodded his head as if he understood. We really didn't talk much about our kids parents. Why should we? It would just cause conflict, but that didn't mean we don't think about them. I wonder about what was so great about Hecate that they got together. He probably thought the same.

" Are you okay?" he asked as he stepped closer to me. I nodded yes and tried to smile.

"So, about that math problem?" I smiled. He smiled at the fact that I was being myself again.

"What about that problem in question?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart, but how did you not get it?" I asked. He smiled.

"How do you know I didn't?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow. Aka, he didn't, but I went along with it.

"Of course, Sweetheart." I kissed him trying to change the subject on how he doesn't get the math our almost-fourteen year olds are learning.

Percy:

"Shh," I rubbed Annie's arms. She was crying into my shoulder after a terrible dream. She was wearing her pink nightgown that had been her good luck charm for years. It was too big for her because it was her mom's. Annie only wore it when she was stressed or sad. Her dream wasn't too bad, but Annie is just sad that Joel hadn't asked her out yet. Personally, I was happy about that. Annabeth was asleep in bed. Artemis was celebrating Beck's first night of sleeping through the entire night. I was in utter bliss with that until Annie woke me up crying saying she had bad dream. I followed her to the couch were she started crying in my arms and telling me about her dream. I'll admit, I wanted to be back in bed with Annabeth, not holding my crying daughter as she told me that some girl had made fun of her and Artemis because their parents left. It made me want to kill that little girl. Then Annie's friend's parents are getting divorced. Over all, it was just to much, and I was glad she went to me when she needed someone. But did it have to be at like two am?

"Daddy, I know Annabeth isn't my mom, but she is the closest thing I have. I love her. Please, tell me you would never do that," Annie pleaded. She took her green eyes to look at me.

"Annie, I love you, and I love Annabeth. I also love Beck and Artemis. I would never do anything to hurt any of you. I promise," I kissed the side of her head.

"Pinky swear?" Annie held out her pinky expecting me to do the same.

"Pinky swear," I joined the gesture. Annie pushed her head on my chest tiredly.

"You need to be getting to bed," I told her. It had to be around two in the morning. She nodded.

"I will. I will give me a minute," Annie slurred to tell. Within almost ten seconds, she was asleep in my arms. Sure, Annabeth would be scared when she woke up to find I was gone, but it wont take her long to find me. I put my head against the couch that over the nine months Beck was coming along, I had to spend a whole lot of time on. Even before Annabeth, I had been on this thing was too much.

**I know it stinks. I just wanted it to get posted.**


	24. A Kiss We've All Been Waiting For

**Artemis: **

As of yesterday, I am officially fifteen. Annie was putting our little brother in bed for me. We were supposed to be babysitting him together, but as usual, the only reason I wasn't doing what I'm supposed to be doing was Zak. He had sent me a text telling me to come out on the terrace in my room. Why he wants me to go on the terrace, I don't know. My mom and Percy are out of town with Aunt Mia and Uncle Malcolm. Which means, Avery, Charlie, and Beck are asleep at home. Today is the anniversary of the day we met six years ago. Anyway, I had slipped my combat boots over my pjs. I slid open the door. The night air seemed darker and colder than it should have been for ten in March. I continued to close the door behind me. The air was seeping into my skin making me almost shake.

"Boo," a sweet voice whispered in my ear. His breath on my neck sent the heat returning to my body.

"Zak, what are you doing?" I turned around. It was still dark, but I managed to make out a tall figure looking down at me with a smile spread across what most have been the face.

"Well, you're not fourteen anymore. You know maybe this should be a regular thing. You won't always be the little teachers pet you know," he told me.

"What if Annie saw? Or worse, my parents?" I asked pulling him to sit beside me on the terrace half wall. I found myself holding his hand. I didn't want to release his strong hand. I started to reluctantly take my hand back to my side, but he took his free hand and stopped it. Sure, I liked it, but it surprised me.

"Zak?" I asked with the surprise evident in my voice. I could barely see, but I knew he was moving closer to me. His blue eyes seemed to be looking into mine because I didn't want to look away from where I was looking. Then it happened. The dark figure loomed closer, but I didn't slide away.

"I love you, Artemis," he whispered before a soft kiss. My brain completely stopped. I felt like I might just pass out. He loved me and he was kissing me. Did I miss something? Is this a dream? Oh please don't let it be a dream. Please, Aphrodite, if you're listening, I know I haven't been the best girl when it comes to love, but please, just let me have this. I didn't want the kiss to end, but it did. And we sat there. Though I knew it was only seconds, it felt like hours before I looked up. The moon was shining more, and I could see his face. His blue eyes were scared. I knew what to do. I took his hand.

"I love you, Zak," I leaned over to whisper. He smiled. He kissed my cheek.

"And by the way, I have Joel distracting Annie, but he should be running out of things to say by now," Zak whispered. I gasped and jumped up immediately regretting it.

"Goodnight," Zak pulled me into an embrace.

"Call me tomorrow. Just as long as it isn't too early. Because you know how I am in the mornings," I responded.

"Don't worry. Tomorrow is a Saturday. You'll be lucky if I'm up before noon," he answered.

"I hope my brother doesn't end up like you," I told him.

"Oh, shut up," he pulled my chin up to kiss me. I let the thought that Avery would probably be getting up to come to my room saying the popcorn was ready slip from my mind. Beck and Charlie were watching Star Wars, I think, and Annie talked me into watching Legally Blonde: the musical in the living room. Anyway, I reluctantly left his arms and slipped in through the door. He waved goodbye before getting down the same way he got up.

Zak just kissed me.

Oh. My. Gods.

Annie:

"Joel," I called out. The brunette turned to look at me.

"Yes?" he asked. I made a signal for him to rush over here. He looked at the skate ramp longingly. Then he turned to run to me.

"What is it?" he asked. I ignored the fact he was annoyed. I pointed to Artemis and Zak. They were laughing, and he kissed her.

"I won the bet. You know what that means," I nudged him. We had a bet as you can tell. If I won, we had to go on a date and I chose the place. If he won, I had to learn how to skate. Anyway, I won! Oh, this is going to be fun.


	25. Looking Back

**Just to clear up, * means a memory. I had to rework it. Oh, and # means real time. 3**

**Annabeth:**

"Mommy?" a voice broke me out of my dreams. I slowly opened my eyes to find two small grey eyes looking right back. My son was shaking me awake in bed. I looked around for Percy. Then I remembered he had to be early for work today. Annie and Artemis also left early so they could study for some test. That meant it was my job to take care of Beck while the office was being redone. A secretary had accidentally flooded the place.

"Yes, Beck?" I asked. He looked so much like his father it almost scared me. I turned to see the clock. It read nine o' clock.

"Mommy, can we sleep late?" I asked. Yeah, as you can tell he is still really little.

"Of course, Sweetie," I scooped him up in my arms. The reason he is sleeping in my bed is the fact that last night he had slipped in our room saying he had bad dreams. Percy and I, both having known how bad dreams scare little kids, made room for the little boy in our bed. Beck wasn't but about eighteen months old.

"I love you, Beckendorf," I whispered in his little ear.

"I love you, Mommy," he responded before falling asleep in my arms. I kissed his cheek.

**Percy:**

"Annabeth," I tried to wake up my wife who had fallen asleep in my arms. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. Artemis had finished _Tale Of Two Pretties _after one day. Followed by the tears of it being the final book, Annie and Artemis had given it to Annabeth because when the last one came out, she became addicted. Annabeth had finished the book so quickly, it was almost funny.

"Anna," I whispered once again. Her grey eyes fluttered open. I started to think about when we had first seen each other since we were eighteen.

_*"Annie, slow down. I can't keep up. How much longer until we reach the stage where you sleep all day?" I asked trying to keep up. We were running in the forest to Camp Half-Blood. My daughter, Andromeda, was the daughter of Hecate._

_"Dad, hurry up! I want you to meet Ms. Chase. She is probably already here. She is going to help Art un-pack," she walked faster._

_"Wait, she's a demigod. And her name is Chase," I put the pieces together._

_"Artemis, slow down. Mommy can't run this fast anymore," I heard a familiar voice say._

_"Artemis?" my daughter asked._

_"Andromeda?" a voice asked._

_"Art," my daughter ran to the voice. I tried to keep up._

_"Annie, I haven't seen you in forever," the blonde woman around my age asked._

_"Hello, Ms. Chase," she said. I reached the area they were in._

_"I told you. Call me Annabeth," she said. My eyes widened._

_"All right, Annabeth. This is my dad," Annie took the woman's hand. She led her to me._

_"Hi, I'm…Percy, is that you?" she asked. She looked even more beautiful than I remember._

_"Percy Jackson, and you're Annabeth?" I asked._

_"That was me. The girl who kept yelling at you since the day you got here," she smiled._

_"You know each other?" Artemis asked._

_"This is the Percy from all of those crazy stories," Annabeth explained._

_"Dad, this is the Annabeth from the stories?" Annie asked._

_"This is her," I told my daughter. The two girls looked at us in amazement._

_"Come on, Hun. Percy, it has been great seeing you, but I'm afraid we must be going. I hope to see you soon," she smiled. Art and Annie pulled her off. She grabbed her daughter's bags before she was pulled away. I smiled as I grabbed my daughter's bags. I quickly made my way to see the new generation of half-bloods._

_"Percy, my boy, great to see you," Chiron told me as I got closer._

_"Great to see you. Have you seen my daughter?" I asked._

_"She was pulling an old friend of yours. Have you seen that friend lately? I'm not supposed to say, but it's-" Chiron told me._

_"Annabeth," I answered, "I just saw her. I didn't know she was a mom," I said._

_"She is. I'm surprised you never kept in touch," he said._

_"We did until we became parents," I told him. We said our goodbyes. I went to my daughter's cabin. A few other girls I recognized were in there._

_"Dad, what took you so long? I dropped Ms. Chase off forever ago," my daughter said. I put her bags down._

#"What?" she asked still half-asleep.

_*I woke up to the sound of the alarm clock in my phone. Annabeth was still asleep. We had fallen asleep on the couch. In one hand I still held a drawing pad, and the other was loosely around Annabeth. Her head rested perfectly on my chest. A smile crept on my face. I hadn't felt like this since I was a teenager. Deep inside, all I wanted was her, but I need to grow up. We each have different lives, but my head reminds me that this summer was one of the best I've ever had._

_"Annie, shh!" I heard Artemis whisper. They were half-way down the hall. They would find us like this._

_"Annabeth," I whispered in her ear. She groaned._

_"I'm up," she said. She leaned up to assess where she was. She knit her eyebrows as id wondering why she was in my apartment._

_"You fell asleep. The girls are up and in the hall," I explained._

_"Oh," she sat up. I did the same._

_"Dang it," Annie muttered as she realized we weren't still asleep in each others arms when she walked in._

_"All right, girlies. How did you sleep?" Annabeth asked smiling. I looked at her. I had always thought she would be a good mom, but I didn't imagine this good…._

#"The brownies are almost done," I told her. Tomorrow, Annie needed the brownies for some school thing. I cant remember what it was.

_*I woke up on the couch. My arms were wrapped around Annabeth. We were at my apartment. The girls had fallen asleep on the floor on a bunch a blankets. I thought about getting up, but then I looked down at the sleeping Annabeth. It was the day after Christmas. I smiled as I rested on my head on the couch again. I licked my lips to find the taste of her lips still there. Memories came flooding back to me. The heartbreak of the ROMAN/GREEK thing was one of the worst. I remembered it all. I didn't even want to think about it._

_"Annabeth?" I asked slightly sleepily. She looked up at me._

_"Yes, Percy," she said. I looked at her with a smile on my face. My heart skipped a beat as her eyes met mine. I pulled her closer and tighter._

_"Good morning," I kissed her forehead._

_"Cartoons," I heard Annie mumble._

_"And we're back on the clock," I sighed. I reluctantly let go of her, and we got up. We started breakfast. She made the pancakes, and I made the eggs and bacon. I watched her try to flip the pancake. We started to laugh as she almost dropped it._

_"Try this," I put my arms around her. My hands rested on her hands. We tried to flip it again. It landed perfectly. She smiled._

_"Guys?" the girls asked._

_"We're in here. Breakfast is almost ready," Annabeth said. I smiled._

"Thank you," she jumped right up. I instantly felt stupid for telling her that after she left my arms. I started to get up after I heard the beeping of the alarm.

"_We're here," Artemis called as we opened the door. Annabeth walked in yet again another perfect outfit that made the no kissing thing harder. _

_"I'm afraid I don't know either of you," Art's uncle asked. _

_"Oh, this is my best friend, Annie, and this is her dad, Mrs. Jackson," Art introduced. James and I talked for a minute. A beep came from the kitchen. Annabeth and I went to see what it was._

_"What is that noise?"I asked as we got into the kitchen._

_"Cookies. Need help," she answered. I took the first pan of them out for her, and she took the second, "Thanks."_

_"No problem," I smiled. I looked around quickly. It was just us. My smile grew as we got closer. My mind went back to Camp Half-Blood._

_"You're not making this easy, you know," she told me. She smiled and got closer._

"Seaweed Brain, I'll never make anything easy for you," she reached up and kissed him. We heard a cheer come from the side. Clarisse and the rest threw us in the lake. She gave me the best underwater kiss ever.

I was awoken back to reality as her lips met mine. My arms were wrapped around her waist, and hers were around my neck. The rest of the world seemed to float away. It was almost as if we were the only ones in the world. As if the gods didn't plot this all, and we were normal.

_"Wise Girl, I love you," I told her._

_"I love you, too," she told me. A smile spread across her perfect lips. I was about to ask her when Annie interrupted me._

"_Dad, are you ready?" I heard Annie ask._

_"Yup, Kiddo," I smiled. I gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving. _

#"All done," Annabeth put the pans on the countertop. I smiled. It felt like yesterday we met each other again, but it had been years. And I loved her just the same. Maybe even more.

**Artemis:**

I sat in my room. I had found a few scrapbooks in my room. Right now, I was going through them. The first picture I saw was of Nikki, Zak, and me. This was before I had met Annie. Wow, this had to have been a long time ago. Behind us, a bonfire was raging. I put it down with plans to show Zak. I looked at the next. It wasn't of me. What met my eyes sent chills even to the bone. A young blonde was smiling with a man around the same age. His brown eyes held the same mischievousness that his smile held. Something they say I have too. He was my dad. This was when they had just met. My mom got pregnant around a year later. Tears were forming. I turned the page. No, I get it. He is a god. I mean, he is still a good dad. Well, as good as the gods get. Another picture of my dad. My mom was standing in front of her office of the business. She had just gone into it with her brother. My dad was standing beside her with a smile. His curls sort of reminded me of my own. I looked mostly like my mom. I skipped the few pages of them together to when my mom was pregnant. She looked happy, but she knew that her baby's father could never be a father. That fear was hidden in her eyes. I could see through her happy exterior. I am her daughter after all. I skipped those nine months to when I was born. My mom was holding a little blonde baby in her arms. It felt so strange that the baby was me. I continued to skip around. The last picture in this book was from when I was starting to talk. That was when I was one.

I grabbed the next scrapbook. The picture of me spending my first time to the zoo, me on my first day at school, and many others from when I was a little kid looked back at me. I flipped through until I reached seven. A little girl with blonde curls tumbling down around her was sitting on the balcony with a book that was almost as big as her in hand. Yup, that was me. I flipped through to find the same pictures you expect to see in any five year old's scrapbook. I took the next. This was where it got interesting. The first picture was of me and Zak at camp. I had to be around nine then. That was when we met. I flipped to the next page. Nikki and Zak accompanied me in most of these pictures. We were the best of friends. Nothing could pry us apart. Annie slowly started to arrive. Then it started to happen. We were eleven. This was the summer we brought our parents together. The next was our first day of sixth grade. Annie and I were standing in front of the school in our grey uniforms.

_*I sat in the car fiddling with the skirt of my uniform. My mom sat beside me driving. 'My Generation' was blasting from the car speakers. My palms were sweaty from the fact that this was the first day of school. _

"_Here we are. Do you have everything?" my mom asked trying to be cheery. _

"_Yup. Thanks for driving me," I told her as I got out. Annie ran up to me. We stood in front of the sign to take a picture. I caught our parents waving to each other. _

#One of the pictures held me and Zak studying at the library. I couldn't remember who had taken the picture, but there it was.

_*"All right, who was the Jamestown leader that punished if the people of Jamestown didn't work?" Zak asked me._

_"Lord De La Warr," I answered._

_"Correct," he told me. Simple Plan's "Welcome to My Life" started to play from is phone. He whipped it out._

_"Let me guess. Is it your annoying little twit of a girlfriend?" I asked._

_"She isn't that bad," he defended for her as he read the text._

_"She called me a loser to my face!" I argued._

_"And you stepped on her foot, called her names, and tried to punch her to get back at her," he defended again._

_"You shouldn't have stopped me," I said. He looked up._

_"Art," he did his serious voice. He didn't have to finish._

_"I know. I know. Humans are don't realize what they do, an I should work on my temper," I said._

_"If you got to know her, you would love Marnie," he said. I mumbled an Ancient Greek curse word._

_"Come on. We're meeting Nikki and Marnie in five minutes at the coffee shop," he told me. We got up from our seats at the school library. We grabbed our bags and books._

_"Have you spoken to Mia recently?" I asked._

_"Yeah, she and Malcolm are really happy. She called me over to help pick out names," he told me._

_"She's great. How has it been?" I spoke it as if it were a disease. He sighed._

_"Marnie is not that bad," he told me._

_"Fine, are you ready for the science test?" I asked as we started to walk down the marble hallway. My sneakers made the only sound in the hallway. Zak walked with dead silence. He was the best person for a fight._

_"I guess. So, I hear the Hunters asked you," he brought up the subject we never talked about. I looked down at my black and blue sneakers. We walked in silence for a minute or two._

_"They did," I simply said._

_"What did you say?" he asked nervously. I felt the tension separate us, though we were walking inches away from each other._

_"I said I'd think about it. My mom said I should do what my heart tells me. She told me she was offered, and her heart told her no. And thanks to that, she had me," I said._

_"Your mom has a point," he simply told me._

_"Why don't you want me in it?" I asked._

_"I don't know," he told me not meeting my gaze._

_"Whatever. Come on. If we're late, I'm telling Nikki to blame you," I told him. He smiled his perfectly white smile as I dragged him along._

**I thought I might as well try a chapter like this. If you like it, I knew I loved you. If you don't, who asked you anyway ? ;] **


	26. Chapter 26

No one's POV:

Beck's dainty little hand was in Zak's strong hand. Artemis was off getting the hot chocolates to warm them from the cold weather that was just awaiting for the glorious spring to relieve them it of it's duty of freezing us all. Now, considering you cant see these two boys, you don't know how this was so strange. Zak was six feet tall, and Beck was one and a half. Just imagine a really tall punk holding hands with a toddler who didn't even seem to notice that they were breaking the laws of physics with Zak being able to hold Beck's hand without having to slouch or Beck on his tippy-toes. Even though, honestly, both of them would break all known rules to see Artemis happy. Zak got along with Beck better than he should have gotten along with his girlfriend's brother, but Beck had known Zak since he was born. And until around now, Zak hadn't been Artemis's boyfriend. He just didn't know to he was supposed to be protective. He wasn't even_ two_ yet.

"Zak?" a slightly nasal voice asked. Zak felt his heart stop like it did when he told Artemis he loved her. Only not in the same way. This time it was out of fear. Zak looked back towards were the voice had come from. His blue eyes looked at the blonde behind him. At first, he thought it had to be a mistake. It wasn't-

"Marnie?" Zak asked with his throat closing up as he said the words.

"That's me," the overly blonde girl smiled. Zak looked at her. Two years ago, she had auburn hair that could barely hold a curl, but now, her hair was almost oozing fake blonde chemicals from her fake curls.

"And who are you?" Marnie asked Beck. Beck looked up at the girl. In his eyes, she wasn't pretty compared to his two sisters, and he wondered why she made him nervous. He had only seen him nervous around Artemis, and he thought that Zak only got nervous around his sister. This new girl wasn't good with kids, and Beck was completely aware of this fact.

"This is Beck, Artemis's brother," he told her. Now that he said it, Zak wished he would have said his girlfriend's brother. Artemis was oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend was going through the torture that is his ex-girlfriend. Instead, she stood in the warm coffee shop that smelled of appetizing winter spices, ordering fresh apple cider and hot chocolate.

"Oh really, well that is great. It's great seeing you again," the girl told Zak once again. He found himself hoping that Artemis would come forward and save him as usual. He knew he was paling. He was becoming so nervous that the fire power he was using to warm himself was decreasing. Then the sight of a true blonde-not a faux blonde- in a grey knit jacket, managing to hold a cup holder and answering her cell phone sent the heat returning to his body. Artemis looked up from answering her phone. Her lips formed a snarl at the girl who was not only flirting with her boyfriend but also flirting with her boyfriend _in front of her baby brother!_ Her Uggs started to carry her faster. The fire in her blood was ignited.

"Ann, I gotta go," Artemis hung up her phone.

"Marnie," Artemis faked a sweet voice as she went up to her boyfriend.

"Artemis, oh my god! It's been so long!" Marnie tried. Even Marnie knew she was losing. I mean, who would he want? A real blonde- not a girl with an overly fake and dull dye job- with sweet eyes that had been looking into his from the time they were nine or a girl who had taken the last few years to look like the other girl and had heartlessly broken his heart? The choice was clear.

"Not long enough," Artemis smiled. Marnie's face fell. Tension joined the chilling cold in the winter air.

"Well, I better get going. Zak, it's been great seeing you," Marnie awkwardly said before walking away.

"You didn't have to do that," Zak told Artemis. Art looked into his blue eyes.

"Yes, I did," she smiled before kissing him.

"Eww!" Beck cried out.

"Oh come on you little 'Eww'," Artemis gave her little brother a kiss on the cheek. He wiped it off in disgust. Zak and Artemis laughed before handing him his hot chocolate.

PERCY:

I was smiling as I walked home. We had left Annie in charge of Beck. You may not know how big this is. I love my daughter, but she isn't the most trustworthy girl in the world. I hate to say that, but it's true. Anyway, this was a big moment. It was her chance to prove she was trustworthy. Usually, I would have had Artty help her, but Artemis was on a date with Zak. Annabeth was the only one who wasn't nervous. She was walking back to the apartment calmly. She acted as if Artty was taking care of him, not Annie. Maybe she was right not to be nervous? Maybe I just needed to calm down. I unlocked the door. Oh god. It looked like a party tornado had gone through it.

"You're back early?" Annie walked in while holding a broom to clean it all up with. I was stricken speechless. A party. She had a party. Oh my God. A party! She had a party!

"Annie," I started off. Annie scrunched up her shoulders as if preparing for the punishment. And oh, she was going to get some.

"Perce?" Annabeth came out on the terrace. I kept my head buried in my hands. I left her alone for three hours, and this happened. I had trusted her. What am I going to do when she's in college? Why cant she be more like Artty?

"How could this happen? I raised her well. I did. I mean, why did she do this? I though I could trust her," I blurted. Annabeth sat down beside me. The night air was still cold. Even I felt shivers run down my spine.

"Percy, we all knew that one or both of them would have a party. It just comes with having teenagers. This was just one mistake. How many times has she proved to be good?" Annabeth made a very good point. She took that as a good sign and continued, "Besides, it's good she did it now, and not later. Remember all of those parties in college we had because we had never had our parents scold us when we had a party," she nudged me. Yeah, sadly, for me, they were very frequent. Hey, I never said I was a good kid in college.

"I guess you're right," I told her.

"Come on. We have an apartment to clean," she got up and put out her hand. I took it as I started to get up.

**So, yeah, a party. Okay, I'm about to go one vk! A cruise to be precise. That means a week without internet to go on here. So, I wanted to post this before I went on the boat. Spring break, here I come! Yeah, i know it sucks. I'm running out of ideas. Yeah, i know. it breaks my heart,too.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Artemis:**

"Get me a Coke," Nik called out to me as I entered Zak's kitchen. Yeah, we spent most of our time at my place, but Annie was having Joel over. Personally, the three of us didn't want to be subject to watching them make-out for two hours. Anyway, the second Zak and Nik found out I was getting up to get a drink, they ordered and changed what they wanted.

"Got it!" I yelled back. My flip-flops sat in front of the doorway to the kitchen from where I got annoyed and kicked them off. Yeah, I still have some [more like a million] relapses with my anger issues. I pushed the swinging door open to make room for me. When I was younger, I could have just slipped right through, but then I learned how good pizza tastes. I crept along the white tile floor in search of the sliver refrigerator. I've been here a million times, but not necessarily the kitchen. Considering I can only make desserts and nothing else, I don't quite get along with kitchens. I quickly opened the door to the frig as soon as I found it. I grabbed the green apple soda [don't ask] and two cokes. When I reached for the drinks, a can was knocked over. Curiously, I picked it up.

"No, no it cant be," I thought aloud. But it was.

_Beer. _

Zak was drinking _beer._

I knew it wasn't his mom's because she barely drank, and when she did drink it was only wine. Never beer. His mom's boyfriend was the same. Actually, he never drank when he was around Zak or me. So, he defiantly wouldn't leave a _beer_ here. It wasn't just that. Zak was six feet tall and as mature as an adult. He could easily pass for twenty-one. I always knew he could get it, but why would he? He is a smart guy. Why would he be throwing his life away?

"Artty!" Nikki yelled braking me out of my thoughts. I had to have been thinking for a long time because she held out the 'r' in Artty. She only does that when she is particularly impatient. I took the beer and left the sodas sitting on the counter.

"Zak!" I yelled before I got to his room.

"What?" he asked as I got in the room. His face paled as he saw what I was holding.

"What is this?" I asked with an edge in my voice. Nikki turned to Zak as if telling him that she was on my side, not his.

"Uh.. Um," he stuttered.

"Zak!" I yelled.

"It's- it's a b-b-beer," he continued in his stuttering. He may be the son of Hades, but I'm the scary one.

"Why is it here?" I continued.

"Uhh, well, I-uh- well, I- I d-drink it," he looked down at the wood floors.

"Zak!" I exploded. Why was he drinking? Was it me? What drove him to it? How do I get him to stop?

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nikki yelled along with me.

"Because I knew you'd do this," he answered timidly.

"Zak, you're throwing your life away!" I continued to rant while pacing back and forth. The beer was far from being in my hand. Instead, I had slammed it on the floor in frustration. At the time, I hadn't thought that I would then smell like it and make my parents suspicious. Luckily, it hadn't exploded yet.

"I know," his voice was barely audible compared to our screams.

"_You know!_ YOU KNOW! UGGHHHH!" I freaked out. Feeling a relapse involving someone getting seriously hurt, I grabbed my jacket and stalked out. Nikki was still yelling at Zak, but by now, he wasn't paying attention. He was calling out to me, but I didn't stop.

Oh my god.

My boyfriend is drinking.

**Annabeth:**

I stood in the kitchen taking out the chocolate cookies. Artty, Annie, and I were watching some movie-Beck picked it- with Beck. Sadly, my son inherited something from his father that I truly wished he hadn't- the love of blue food. So, yeah, I was stuck making cookies with blue chocolate chips. Quickly, I slammed the pan onto the countertop. Artemis was upset about something, but she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. Annie, on the other hand, wouldn't stop talking about Joel. Joel had apparently done something so sweet the last time she saw him. She had said it so many times that I forgot what happened. As I put away the utensils used in making the cookies, I noticed a drawer open. A little white box was keeping it open. Somehow, it looked familiar. Slowly, I reached for it. Oh my God!

_A pregnancy test_.

Why was there a pregnancy test? Artemis wouldn't be that stupid, and of course, Annie wouldn't. Could that be why Artemis was so upset? No, no, of course not. There would be signs from either of them.

They would be trying to be good girls.

Well, they were watching a movie with Beck, even though Annie said the squeaky voices drove her crazy.

They would be trying to make the father seem great in our eyes.

Art hasn't mentioned Zak, but Annie has been talking about Joel.

They would seem fidgety.

Art was too mad to be fidgety, but Annie did seem nervous.

No, no, Annie couldn't be- but she does show all the signs. Oh god. _Please, Hera, I know you hate me, but please, do not ruin my step-daughter's life._

Nervously, I took the box. As I passed the open door to Percy's study, I tried to keep the box unnoticeable. There was no need to bring him into this until I knew one of them was pregnant. I never thought I would say that. I continued up the stairs to Annie's room. Slowly, I opened the door and closed it behind me. Annie was sitting on her bed surrounded by magazines.

"Is it time for the movie already?" Annie asked as she looked up from _Seventeen. _She wasn't even seventeen yet, and I was having to ask her this. I took a deep breath to hold in the breakdown that was on the verge of coming loose.

"Annie, what is this?" I held up the box, making sure the two words imprinted on it were noticeable. Her fake-tan-covered skin paled.

"Um, a pregnancy test," she tried.

"Andromeda Jackson, are you pregnant?" I sat down on her pink duvet.

"No! Of course not!" she defended.

"Then who's test is this?" I asked.

"Uh- I cant tell," she looked back down.

"Annie."

"It's not mine, but I just cant tell." she told me.

"Who's is it?" I asked again.

"Mom, it isn't mine. I promise, but I also promised not to tell," she told me.

"Anne, if you don't tell me, I'll have to tell your father," I warned. Percy wouldn't take this well. He would take it like Athena took finding out I was pregnant both times, including the one with the god. Let's just say, it was not pretty.

"No, please don't," she begged.

"It was my friends, Victoria's. She and her boyfriend went little far, and she was scared. I promise. How am I supposed to become a columnist at Vogue if I get pregnant at sixteen?" Annie asked with a smile. While Artemis dreamed of becoming an attorney, Annie's life goal is to work at Vogue. I couldn't help it. I scooped Annie into a hug.

"I love you sweetheart," I told her.

"I love you, too."

**Artemis:**

"Coming!" I yelled to the door that a knock had just erupted from. Beck ran along side with me. I opened the door to find the one person I didn't want to see.

"Zak-Attack," Beck smiled at Zak. I looked down at Beck.

"Beck-a-Dee," Zak scooped the small boy into a hug.

"Beck, go to tell Mommy and Annie that they movie is ready," I told the little boy.

"Okay," Beck did as I asked.

"Zak, what are you doing here," I closed the door behind me as I entered the hallway to talk to him.

"Artemis, you never gave me a chance to explain," he told me.

"Then explain," I told him while nervously tugging at my grey knit jacket.

"Artemis, uh, I started drinking about six months ago. I was pressured into it at a party and became addicted. I wanted to tell you, but I was embarrassed," he looked down at the carpet. By now, I was intently looking into his blue eyes, willing him to look up, "Artemis, I'm trying to stop but I need your help," he told me as he took my hand.

"Zak," I started.

"I'm sorry. Artemis, you know I would do anything for you. Please," he took his head to look up into my eyes. Without meaning to, I laughed.

"Fine, but if you have one drink- _one drink_-, and I'm gone," I warned him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too, but _one drink _and I'm-," I was cut off by him kissing me again. God, I love him.

**A/N: So yeah, Zak-Attack has drinking problems. I know. Sooooo sad. Anyway, what did you think? I know my writing is starting to get bad. Well, anyway, you didn't come to read my authors note. If you did, you are really weird. Hasta La Bye-Bye!**

**PERCY:**

"Perce?" Annabeth asked me. Her blonde curls were pushed up on my chest.

"Yes, Annabeth?" I smiled.

"Percy, I need to ask you something," she started.

"Yes?" I kissed the side of her head.

"Did you love Hecate?" she asked me. I felt stunned. I mean, I always knew she would wonder, but I never thought she would ask. The truth is that I don't know how to answer.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, I love you, and I just wanted to know," Annabeth continued.

"I thought I did, but I was still getting over a high school sweetheart," she smiled as I continued, "I love that she gave me Annie, and I love Annie. I guess, the answer is that I loved her, but I wasn't in love with her."

"Nice answer," she smiled.

"What about Art's dad?" I asked her. She sighed.

"Same, I guess. Well, that and Athena was just so mad. It was a little funny, to tell you the truth," Annabeth answered. I smiled. I could just picture Athena and Hephaestus fighting over Annabeth.

"Oh, Annabeth was a little rebel," I smiled.

"Oh shut up," she couldn't help but laugh.

"So, I have to ask. Who was a better kisser?" I asked trying to break the seriousness. She laughed again, proving that it worked.

"I don't know. I guess I'll need to confirm by kissing one of those subjects," she smiled.

"Of course, that is completely understandable," I continued on with the joke.

"Okay, I'll just go find Hephaestus," Annabeth jokingly started to get up. I pulled her back down into a kiss.

"So, who's the winner?" I asked with a smile.

"This is a very tough one. So, I think I might just have to see again," she kissed me.

"Well, I think you should have your answer, but if you need anymore testing, I'm right here," I smiled.

"Nice to know about the volunteer, but I think I have my answer," Annabeth smiled yet again. What's up with all the smiling today? Oh no, is this like the mood swings again? Not that I don't love Beck, but I can not deal with another nine months. No, if she was pregnant again, we would already be on the next mood swing.

"Who is it?"

"I think it might just have to be… hmm, this is a tough one. I suppose, it would be my loving husband who better not be still thinking about Calypso. Because if he is-" Annabeth started. I cut her off by kissing her. Sure, she'll go right back into it most likely by tomorrow night, but that isn't right now. Personally, I don't want to have to hear yet another Calypso talk. You should have seen how it went when she found out about her when we were fourteen [A/N: wasn't it 14 or 13? Anyway, I say 14]. Ugh, it was almost as bad as the nine months. Yeah, nothing, I repeat _nothing _was as bad as the thousands of fights where I usually ended up sleeping on the couch.

"Smart move, Mr. Jackson," Annabeth complimented.

"I thought so, too, Mrs. Jackson," I smiled.

**ANNABETH:**

I smiled as I slid a sleeping Beck into my arms. Beck had fallen asleep when the three of us-Percy, Beck, and I- had been watching Hercules. I was the POD- Parent On Duty- for the day. Beck continued to sleep in my arms. I smiled. He was just so sweet. Why cant he just stay like this. Does he have to grow up? Speaking of growing up, Artty and Annie are both hidden up in their rooms with a pile of books studying. How did they go from three years old to sixteen in the blink of an eye?

"Shh," I started to rock Beck in my arms as I started to walk up the stairs to his room. Beck started to drift deeper into sleep. Percy was who-knows-where, and for the moment, I decided he could just stay there. Beck was a daddy's boy. He loves his mom, but there are enough girls in the house and decided to join forces with the only other guy. Smart kid. Anyway, Beck and I didn't get much time to spend together with the fact that we were still raising Annie and Artemis and my job is demanding.

The sleeping boy in the my arms didn't seem to notice that I was slipping him into his crib. Instead, he just clung onto his baby blue blanket that I switched out every two weeks so he wouldn't get attached to a blanket too much. You may think that is crazy, but it does have it's benefits, especially when traveling.

"I love you, Beckendorf," I smiled at my son. I thought about the past. How different it had been without Beck. My life with Hephaestus. Raising Artemis when I was a single mom. Meeting Percy again. Marrying Percy. Having a child with Percy. My mom getting mad about Percy. Yeah, I mostly thought about Percy. I started to wonder about Zak and Artemis. I didn't want my daughter falling in love as a teenager, but I wondered if she was in love. I wondered if she loves Zak the way I loved Percy at her age. I wondered about Annie. Joel was a good kid, but I knew that they were heading for a downfall. How would she take losing him? Does Zak love Artemis like Artemis loves him? What will Beck turn out like. Will he be like me or his father? I'm hoping he doesn't go around blowing up schools like we always did. And why does mothering come with all of these questions? It is starting to get a little annoying.

"We have good kids, don't we?" Percy smiled. His green eyes darted away from Beck to me. We had kids, and kids are hard. Sure, our kids weren't _as_ hard, but still in their own way hard. Annie is boy crazy and makes me nervous when a boy that isn't Zak, Percy, or Beck is here. Artemis knows what she wants and is very tricky. Though she probably wont, she has always had the power to trick me whenever she wants. And Beck is three. I think that says it all.

"We do," I smiled. Though the evidence above is very compelling, I knew that we had raised Annie and Artemis right and were doing pretty well with Beck so far. Sure, it's hard, but things that are hard are usually worth it in the long run.

"**I'M BACK IN INTERNET!" [HAPPY DANCE!] "I AM BACK IN INTERNET. I MISSED YOU, SWEET INTERNET. I MISSED YOU, TOO!" [KISS THE COMPUTER]. "I WUV YOU!" **

**-a scene from when I got back to the blessed gift we call WIFI :* [isn't that the kiss sign? Anyway, something like that.]**


	28. Chapter 28

_**Annabeth:**_

"_What's wrong?" I stood beside Percy on the terrace. Percy was yet again staring out to the busy streets. This was becoming all to frequent. Then again, our daughters were studying were about to turn seventeen. Completely understandable. _

"_Do you remember when we had just met? The second time?" he asked me._

"_How could I forget?" I asked. _

"_I just… feel like times gone too fast. Annie and Artemis are almost seventeen. Beck is already three. Annie is in her first serious relationship. Artemis is in love. Beck is all ready talking and walking. Why do they have to grow up?" Percy hung his head to look down at the people walking on the sidewalk._

"_They have to grow up. We did," I nudged him. He smiled, "Percy, stop worrying about this. We can worry enough when college-finding time starts."_

"_How do you make everything okay with a few simple words?" Percy turned to smile. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the crown of my head._

"_It's kinda my job," I smiled. _

_**Percy:**_

"_Melanion fell in love with her. He knew that he was not fast enough to win the race. So he did what many frustrated lovers have done. He prayed to Aphrodite for help. Aphrodite has a weakness for lovers and a concern about those that reject romance to the degree that Atlanta did. Aphrodite presented Melanion with three golden apples and a plan. In return Melanion was to sacrifice to Aphrodite. _

"_Melanion then ran his race with Atlanta carrying the apples with him. When Atlanta caught up to him he tossed the first apple at her feet. The sight of the magic golden apple was irresistible to Atlanta. She stopped to pick it up confident that she could make up the time. Soon enough she was once again passing Melanion. He threw the second apple, this time further to the side. Again, she lost time retrieving the apple. As she again caught up the finish line was near and chasing the third thrown apple cost her the race," I continued to tell Beck the story of Atlanta, leaving the racy parts out. Like the not wanting to give 'it_' up. Or the whole leaving her in the woods because if I told Beck stuff like that, he had nightmares. Mainly, I was focused on telling the race and becoming lions thing. You know, the main part.

"Why did she take them?" Beck asked.

"Atlanta was very prideful. She thought that no matter what she would win. She became too cocky," I answered. All of us had something special to do with Beck. Annie was a making cookies with him. Artemis was taking him to do crafts and stuff like that. Annabeth was teaching him things and stuff like that. I had a few. We all did. But only one person did Greek Mythology. Me. I _was_ a professor of Ancient Societies after all.

"Why was she like that?" Beck asked me.

"I don't know. I guess, she was so used to being the best, she forgot about how others were good, too," I answered.

"Guys, it's bed time," Annabeth walked in.

"But Mom?" Beck begged.

"But nothing, Beck-A-Dee," Annabeth answered.

"Come on, Beck. Your mom's right," I looked at my watch.

"Ugh," Beck sighed. Do kids have to be like their parents? Can I get a redo? This kid is me when I was three. Even the bad things I did. Especially the bad things I did.

"Come on, Beck," I picked him up and sat him down in his bed.

"Good night, Beck-A-Dee," I kissed the top of his head.

"Good night, Dad," Beck told me as his eyes started to close. I smiled and turned off the lights to wear the only light illuminating the room was the small wave nightlight. I closed the door behind me to wear Annabeth and I were standing one inch away from each other.

"Our kid is just like us," Annabeth put her arms around my neck. I wrapped mine around her waist.

"Is that a bad thing?" I smiled.

"As long as he doesn't go around blowing up schools, we're all good," she smiled. I pulled her closer into a kiss.

"DAD!" Annie yelled when Artemis yelled, "MOM!"

Annabeth and I looked at each other with a smile. A laugh first escaped her lips, but mine wasn't very far behind.

**Hi, there. So, here I go again. Barer of bad news.**

**So, as you know, my abilities in writing have some what taken somewhat of a plunge in the quality department. Due to this very fact I have come to the end. My ideas are wandering out of my mind and into other stories. My book. How a reunion brought back more that bad yearbooks. [if only I could get something into getting through the prophecy isn't the hard part] anyway, I was supposed to do this a long time ago, but I didn't. **

**All right, let me break this down. **

**Well, its finally time. **

**No, this isn't the last chapter. I am writing two or three more chapters. Plus a heartbreakingly sad Authors Note.**

**I'm done crying about this. You should be too. Think about this, I've come so far from my first story [an utter flop], and you did that for me. You pushed me to be the best I could be, and I will always thank you for that.**

**So, keep on reading for the last few chapters of **_**We All Grow Up, Even Percabeth**_** by HAWTgeek.**

**You know you'll regret it if you don't! :] **

**I love you! **

For more on the story of Atlanta see this link: .

I must admit that I copied the Atlanta story from this site. Yeah, I'm a bad plagiarizer. I have broken the writers oath [fake passing out]. How can I live with myself!


	29. What's Growing Up Without A Prom Night!

_**Annabeth:**_

"_We're home!" Annie yelled. _

"_Did you find your dresses?" I asked as I got up from the couch to see them._

"_Yup," Annie smiled._

"_Come on, girls. I want to see them," I started to push Nikki, Artemis, and Annie to Annie's room._

"_Fine," Artemis sighed. I smiled as I watched them close the door behind them. Yeah, it's finally time. Prom. My daughters are getting ready for prom. I know. I'm getting so old. Okay, so not my point here. Thinking about when I was buying my dress for prom, I sat down on the couch again. I still cant get over that their growing up. Thank God Percy was with Beck at a baseball game. He would already be crying by now. Or he would be having a lecture with Joel. Which was worse, I didn't know. _

"_What do you think?" Annie ran out for me to see the dress. Wow. She looked gorgeous. A pink skirt spread around her making her look at least 2 inches taller. A wrapped top made her figure seem smaller. Little imbedded rhinestones showed off a the magic in her blood._

"_You look amazing," I pulled her into a hug._

"_You have _too see Artemis! It took, like, forever to pick this out," Annie gushed.

"I heard that!" Artemis yelled from Annie's room.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!" Annie yelled right back.

"Fine," Artemis stomped over to us. I gasped.

My daughter didn't look like Annie did. Annie still looked like a teenager in her dress. Artemis looked like an adult as she walked in. Bad attitude or not. Grey tissue **[A/N: no not sneezing tissue. Like that thin, see through fabric thing. I couldn't think of the name so I read the description] **floated around her long legs. Little rosettes and other flowers were sewn into the top of the dress. A darker grey bow was wrapped around the waist of the dress.

"Artemis, you look beautiful," I hugged her, too. It started to sink it. _My daughters are going to prom. _Not some little middle school dance that Zak always forced Artemis to go to. They were going to prom. _Prom._

"Thanks, Mom," Artemis smiled.

"So, I walk in on the mushy-gushy moment. Ugh, I knew I should have gone home first," Nikki told them. I looked at her. Truthfully, I was surprised that Annie didn't snatch that dress right up. It was beautiful. Silver sequins toped the dress with a pearl fringe hanging off that. A huge, light pink bow took center stage with the tissue [still fabric] puffing out everywhere.

"Nikki, you look so… _girly_!" I couldn't help but say. I had pictured her wearing something colorful and Greek.

"I know. I had a dress on reserve, but they accidentally sold it. And, well, I decided who doesn't want to be a princess at prom?" Nikki smiled.

"I cant believe its already prom," I smiled.

"So, Nik, who are you going with?" Annie asked.

"Ohh," Artemis nudged Nikki.

"It isn't that big of deal," Nikki tried, "I'm going with Gabe."

"Oh my God! Hottie Gabe?" Annie asked. Nikki nodded, "Now, the dress makes sense! I thought you were going crazy!"

Percy:

"Have fun!" Annabeth called out to our daughters before they closed the door behind them.

"Not too much fun!" I countered.

"Dad, don't worry. We'll be fine. Stop worrying," Annie told me. I looked back at Joel. I, very reluctantly, trusted Zak. I did not trust Joel. He looked too… much like, well, a teenage boy who wants want every other teenage boy wants. And _that_ I did not trust.

"We'll be home by midnight," Art told us. I nodded. Followed by a ruffle of tissue pushing through the door, they left.

"Our daughters are going to prom," Annabeth rested her head on my shoulder.

"Yeah, two guys are with my daughters alone for around four hours. I'm so happy," I said sarcastically.

"Sweetheart, they'll be fine," Annabeth told me.

"Do you remember prom at all?" I turned to ask her. Her face fell.

"Oh God-" Annabeth started off. She started to remember that she was trying to stop me from freaking out, "Percy, stop. Artemis and Zak wont do anything because they're too scared to ruin their future. Annie isn't that stupid either. Come on, let's go watch Beck's show then watch Fringe. If you keep on, I'll get worried."

"Fine."

**Annie:**

"That's it. We're done!" Joel yelled. I looked at him. His brown eyes were full of anger.

"Fine!" I yelled before thinking. What did I just do? Did Joel just dump me? I was too frustrated and stubborn to try to reconcile. Instead, I just stomped off in my heels. I was breaking up at _prom? _We would make up, right? We would have to. I mean, I WAS BREAKING UP AT _PROM_. _Prom?_

"Annie," Artemis ran after me.

"What?" I asked. By now, tears were starting to form in my eyes. The colorful strobe lights were starting to blur.

"Come on, Sis," Artemis took my arm and pulled me to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a pretty-in-pink teenager, and Artemis looked like a Vera Wang model. The hair slipping out of my updo was still perfectly curled though it had been one hour since prom started. My makeup was starting to smear.

"Joel just broke up with me!" I cried.

"Annie," Art pulled me into a hug.

"Come on. You two will be fine. Let's fix your make-up," Artemis smiled. I tried to do the same. I sat on the counter and watched as Artemis reached for my pink clutch. Carefully, she reapplied my makeup.

"So, tell me what happened?" Artemis sat on the counter beside me.

"I don't know. We had a fight, and he just said it. He said that we were done, and I- I don't know. Don't you want to get back to your boyfriend instead of being stuck in a bathroom with your sister?" I asked.

"Zak is being protective and watching Gabe with Nikki right now, and I don't even really like parties anyway. Besides, you're not only my sister, you're my best friend," Artemis smiled.

"So, I never thought we would be the girls crying in the bathroom," I smiled.

"Yeah, we've come a long way, huh?" Artemis said.

"Don't you remember our first dance?" I smiled.

"Yeah, I was stuck in some terrible outfit, and you kept getting asked to dance. I was so jealous," Artemis started to laugh.

"Yeah. This is really our prom, isn't it?" I asked.

"We all have to grow up. I cant get over that high school is almost done," Artemis looked down at her dress.

"Do you really think Joel and I will get back together? I mean, I want the truth," I asked her.

"Annie," Artemis took my hand, "I think that you and Joel will do whats right. I don't know if you will make up or not. All I know is that right now is our prom. Let's go do our terrible dancing and ruin our hair and makeup."

"Deal," I jumped off the counter.

**PROM. Yup, our girls are already at prom. So, again, I might push this back a little more. The ending thing, but it is happening. Give me about two or three more chapters left. The ending is all planned out. Now, if you want something to happen before I end it, please PM me with the ideas. I will credit you for them of course! This your last chance before WE ALL GROW UP! **

**TO SEE THE DRESSES HERE ARE THE LINKS [P.S. sometimes they don't work on here. So, I will post them on my profile, too]:**

**Artemis: ****.com/wedding/spring-2011/?look=3**

**Annie: ****.?productid=5169&cat=277&page=2**

**Nikki: ****.com/wedding/all-gowns/?look=43**


	30. Chapter 30

**Annie:**

"Joel?" I asked surprised. He looked up at me with hopeful eyes. The sight made me want to run straight into his arms.

"Annie, listen, I am so sorry. I just… I was just frustrated. I am so sorry," Joel told me. Here was the moment I had been wondering about. The old me would take him back in a heartbeat, but I don't know about now. I don't know what happened to me in the last few days. I guess something clicked. I became more like Artemis. As I looked at him, I felt something tug at my heart.

"Joel," I started. As I looked at him, I knew what to do.

"Annie, please," Joel tried.

"Joel, you got into UCLA. I'm not even trying to get in there. Joel, if we get back together, we'll still have to break up eventually. It'll even hurt more," by now I was crying, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we- we should get back together."

"But-but, Annie," Joel tried.

"Goodbye, Joel," I told him. I released his hand and slipped back into the apartment. I slipped down the wall.

Somehow, I didn't regret it. I knew it was the right thing to do, but since when did I do that? Somehow, in the last few days, I had grown up. I wasn't that little boy-crazy girl anymore. Along the way of getting my dad marry Annabeth, having my first real relationship, picking out prom dresses, getting my first phone, going to camp for the first time, having my first kiss, taking care of Beck, and everything else I grew up. I didn't mean to, but I did.

**Annabeth:**

"MOM!" Annie screamed as she and Artemis ran into the bedroom. Neither of them seemed to notice the fact that it was seven in the morning on a Saturday. I sat up to look at the two teenagers who were bursting with energy that they usually never had. Annie was almost jumping for joy in her micro fiber pink pijama bottoms and hot pink tank top. What? She likes really soft things. Even Annie, who never had energy on any morning, was running in her black pijamas.

"What?" I asked, leaning onto Percy who had just sat up along with me.

"Mom," Artemis and Annie jumped on the bed.

"What?" Percy was the one to ask this time.

"We got into America University!" Annie giddily yelled. My heart stopped. My little girls are going to college. Always knew they would, but they just got in. What happened to the little girl who used to come jumping into my bed on a Saturday morning to tell me a cartoon was on?

"Oh my God!" I pulled Artemis and Annie into a hug.

"I have to call Zak and see if he got in," Artemis smiled as to her room.

"I need to call Nik," Annie jumped up to run to her room. As soon as the door closed, I rested my head on Percy's shoulder. He kissed the side of my head.

"College. Our little girls are going to college," Percy sighed as he kissed the side of my head.

"What happened to the little girls who were drawing on the college pamphlets, not reading them intently?" I asked. Percy nodded.

**Beckendorf:**

"Beck," Artemis pulled me into a hug.

"Happy Graduation," I told her. She kissed my cheek. I wiped it away as soon as I could.

"You're a Sweetheart," Artemis told me as she let go.

"Aren't you going to wish your other sister good luck?" Annie asked me with a smile as she hugged me. What's up with all the hugging? It's only there high school graduation. Oh, now I get it. My bad.

"Congratulations," I told her.

"I can't believe we just graduated," Artemis sighed.

"Guys, I can accept it happened, but we do not talk about it," my mom told them. My sisters hugged Mom.

"Beck-A-Dee," Zak scooped me into a hug and swung me around. This was probably the only hug I actually enjoyed throughout all of the family hugs. Like when my Uncle Bobby hugged me saying 'Soon, little Beck here will be getting there diploma along with Annie and Artemis'. Then my mom proceeded to hug me after that. Then Nikki decided to hug me along with Arty and Annie.

"Zak-Attack," I smiled.

"I don't get it. How do you get along better with _my_ brother than _me_?" Artemis asked as she kissed him.

"Hello?" I asked with my arms crossed.

"Sorry," Zak put me down. Artemis smiled yet again. My chubby little legs walked over to Dad.

"Come on. Your Grandmother is waiting," Dad told us.

**So, I've been having trouble with Beck's POV. The reason I havent done this until now is that I was going to write a sequel about Annabeth and Percy raising Beck. Sadly, that idea wont be happening. The ideas of this story have started to run low. I have one or two more chapters left. Thank you so much for following all this time. Ugh, I'm starting to cry again. Any way, just to cover what happened here.**

**Annie broke up with Joel.**

**Artemis and Annie got into American University.**

**They just graduated. **

**Beck is going to miss his sister's soooooooo much.**

**Did I miss anything? I think that covered it. **

**Hasta La Bye-Bye!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Beck:**

That's when I saw her. Her brown straight hair was slipping into her blue eyes as she was staring at the fish tank in the summer day camp four year old room.. I stopped paying attention to Will as he continued to tell me about his annoying baby brother. Instead, I looked at her. For the longest time, I had thought my mom and my sisters were the prettiest girls in the world. Now, I'm not so sure.

"Beck," Will snapped his fingers in front of my face. I looked back at him.

"Who's she?" I asked pointing to the girl. Will shook his head.

"I thought we said that girls were gross," Will tried.

"Who. Is. She?" I asked a little more forcefully.

"Katrina. She just moved here. Next year, she's starting school with us," Will answered. I nodded. She was really pretty.

"If you're going to go against the codies rule, you might as well talk to her," Will smirked. I'm going to kill this kid. I really would have, had my parents not warned me not to injure anyone after I accidentally called on the fish to come closer and they broke the class to come ending up with a few kids cut. It's not like any of them actually died or got seriously injured. Two of them just had to go to the hospital. They're fine now. Well, other than Will's scar, but he gave me a scar, too. He's _way_ more dangerous than me. He _did_ try to make a skyscraper out of pencils when we were both done with class. A kid ran and knocked it over, sending pencils flying everywhere. No, I shouldn't blame the kid who wrecked it. Will is a son of Athena. So, I don't get many chances to blame things on him. So, this is a chance to blame him, and I'm taking it.

"Uh-huh," I nodded and walked up to the fish tank. Katrina looked up. I tried to stop from freezing up.

"Hi," she started finally. Beck, pull it together. You can do this. You can do this.

"Hi," I tried. My tongue seemed to swell up. The familiar taste of penny's covered my tongue. So this is what Annie meant by crushes can be torture.

"I'm Katrina," she introduced.

"I'm-I'm Beck," I managed to form the words, though it seemed like it'd never happen. Ugh, this is going terribly. She probably thinks I'm an idiot. Wait, why's she smiling?

"Nice to meet you." I have to admit, her smile was really pretty. Like, _really_ pretty. My tongue swelled up again. Wanting to be closer to her was fought by wanting to run in the other direction.

"Yeah, so, you like the water?" I asked feeling my IQ fall a point for every second she was close to me.

"I love it," my stomach twisted as her face lit up, "You?"

"Yeah, it's my favorite thing," I smiled.

**Annie:**

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked Beck as he piled into the car. He didn't answer. In two weeks, I'm heading off to camp. After that, it's college. Artemis and I are trying to spend as much time as we can with the little munchkin. I still cant believe we're heading off to college. So, in turn, our parents are lessening their grip on Beck and tightening their grip on us. The last few days of been crammed with packing, spending time with Beck, and being with our parents. Artemis has had even more with the fact her dad had reappeared with the fact that for every child he has, he grants them with an extra magical item if, and only if, they get in and go to college. He got tired of his kids skipping it.

"Nothing," Beck grumbled. I nodded and pulled the car out into the crowded streets.

"Anything special happen?" I asked once again. Instead of answering, he pressed the radio button. A random pop band blasted from the speakers. Taking a hand off the wheel, I quickly turned the volume button down, trying not to swerve into another car. Scared, I firmly placed my hands on the wheel. The car is a college present to both of us because DC has less traffic. Artemis is the better driver, just like she seems to be in everything, not that I'm complaining. A good driver is very helpful for when I don't want to drive in road trips. Anyway, she basically called the car. Our parents said I get a car only if my grades are good, which they weren't my best last semester. So, I have to wait until the end of this semester in college to see if I get a car. Nikki said she'd drive the car down to us. No, she isn't heading off to AU with us. Instead, she got into the college Artemis was secretly leaning towards until she found out the amazing programs at AU, George Town.

"Not really," Beck looked down at his jeans. An interest sparked within me.

"_Not really?_ Hmm, well then, anything average happen? Maybe you made something cool in crafts or you met someone-," I stopped when I saw Beck turn scarlet.

"Oh come on, Beck-A-Dee, spill," I smiled. He looked back down. He's gonna do it! Wow, he's actually listening to me. He hasn't done that since, well, since he caught me and Joel making out on the couch. Joel. The smile died out. Joel and I had broken up almost a month ago. He was in Georgia being a camp counselor. Who knows how many girls are all over him by now? He and Zak still kept in touch. I hadn't really heard anything yet, but soon enough… soon enough he'll have someone. I'll be with my sister being head counselor at the Hecate cabin. To cheer me up, Nik had set me up on a blind date, but it wasn't going to go so well and I knew it. Sure, it'll result in a good kiss or maybe even a few more dates, but it wont be what I had with Joel. The worse part is, I broke up with him, and I'm probably feeling the worst. Only Zak knows how Joel is fairing, and he wont tell me. That jerk. That-

"Fine," Beck sighed, breaking me out of my mental rants about my split with Joel.

_Annie, break out of it. It's over. Just take a breath. You're going to college. You can worry about that then. Right now, let's worry about spending as much time with Beck as you can. Oh, and weaseling his little secret out of him_, I ordered myself.

"I just met a friend. She's into all the same things as me," Beck smiled. I raised an eyebrow. Taking a chance on both of our lives I turned to look at him for a minute.

"_She?_" I smiled.

"Annie!" Beck yelled. I snapped back to look back on the road with my heart pounding. I took another breath.

"Okay, sorry about that. Who is she?" I asked. Beck sighed, wishing that I would have just forgotten it, just as Artemis wished I would forgotten when we started talking about Zak.

"Ugh, her name's Katrina. She loves the water, and she even taught me the origami fish. Well, she is so funny, and, well, she's just so… so," Beck tried. I know this one. Better than anyone, I know this.

Beck. Has. A. Crush.

"Somebody has a crush. Somebody has a crush," I sang out. Beck turned scarlet, not that I noticed.

"Anyway, you _have_ to give her flowers. All girls love flowers. You should tell her she's pretty. We also love that," I started to pile off reasons on what he should do. This will be great! This is perfect. What better way to get over Joel than to help Beck? I pulled the car into the garage underneath the apartment building. Beck didn't say a word.

"Stop!" Beck yelled. I stopped breathing as I turned off the car. He ran out the door to the elevator. Did he just say 'Stop'? As in what? He wants me to stop so he can write this down? Or maybe he wants me to give him some different ideas? He _just cant _mean to stop all together. He cant.

I noticed how he was riding up in the elevator without me. Shoot. I grabbed my keys and bag before slamming the car door. My green flats were making it hard to run after him. I pressed the button what felt like a million times a second before the ding finally brought the elevator down. Running in, I pressed the button for our floor. My parents are going to kill me. Artemis is going to kill me. Zak is going to get mad. He isn't close enough to kill me. Nikki will probably get mad at me.

Great, I'll be going on that blind date with a black eye.

The elevator dinged open, only to find that it was in the lobby, not my floor.

"Sorry," a cute boy walked in. He was really tall. Brown eyes were set off by his blonde surfer boy hair.

"No problem," I nodded with a smile. Wait, was I flirting? When I was worried about Beck? When I was still getting over Joel? I couldn't believe what I was doing. Well, he _was_ pretty cute.

"I'm Joshua," he introduced himself. I smiled a flirty smile. I can not believe I'm doing this, but I am.

"I'm Annie," I answered.

"I'm moving in. Just got into NYU," Joshua told me.

"I've been in this building for five years, and I've lived here my entire life," I answered.

"Five years in New York? Wow, I'm a little nervous about these next four years," he told me.

"It's a great place. You'll love it," I told him.

"Are you heading to NYU?" he asked.

"No, I'm going to American University," I answered.

"Nice," he nodded.

"This is me," Joshua nodded towards the elevator door. I hadn't noticed how the elevator had even started to go up. I concealed a sigh and watched him walk away.

He. Was. Hot.

Like Joel when we first met. Cute, mysterious, and cordial. Everything I wanted. I was still marveling about how so very hot he was when the elevator dinged open. Wait, I am the worst sister ever. Beck's been on his way up here for the last two minutes. I looked to see he was doing the annoyed walk. So, he wasn't in the apartment yet. Thank the gods. I ran behind him right before he opened the door to make his dramatic entrance.

"What happened to him?" my parents asked.

"He has his first crush," I explained.

"Oh not again," my dad sighed.

**XXXXX**

"Beck!" I knocked on the door.

"Leave me alone!" he yelled back.

"Beck, I just want to help!" I told him. He ran to open the door. My hopes fell as I saw his face.

"I don't want your help! Just leave me alone." Beck slammed the door. What? He doesn't want my help, but this is my area of expertise. He needs to get her, and I need something to take my mind off Joel. He cant do this.

**Artemis:**

"Hey, Beck-A-Dee," I knocked gently on the door. A muffled 'What?' came from the room. I took that as him, not Will who was known to disarm the security system that my dad hasn't uninstalled from Beck's baby proofing and hang out in his room. Well, he didn't do it as much as Zak and I used to, but let's not bring that up to my parents, especially not Percy. That's just not a good idea.

"Beckendorf, can I come in?" I asked with a sweet eloquence. Hephaestus bad people skills don't you dare kick in now!

"Fine, the doors open," Beck answered. I walked forth to see that he was sitting on his fire escape, looking over the skyline of the city. Taking a deep breath, I followed him out the large window and onto the fire escape. Beck's grey eyes were red at the rims. I sat beside him, trying not to scoop him up in my arms.

"You kind of hurt Annie's feelings," I pointed out.

"I know," Beck hung his head, "She's just so… I mean, I don't have a crush on Katrina."

"Okay," I nodded my head in encouragement.

"Annie's just so… I don't have a crush on Kat, okay? She's just a friend, my best friend. I don't want to give her flowers or any of that."

"Becky, I get it. Annie was the same way with me and Zak, and we didn't go for it. We didn't want to end up together because Annie made us do something. We wanted someone to fall for us because it was us. And we weren't ready to fall for someone yet. So, we waited, and look what happened. Anyway, Beck, I get it. I really do, but Annie is missing Joel. She just wanted to help you because she feels bad about being without him and doesn't want you to be without Katrina," I told him.

"I can handle it, Artty," Beck told me. I nodded. No question. He's my brother. I smiled to myself, but I didn't let it loose in case Beck would see it.

"Becky, if you want to be with her, just do whatever makes you get along so well," I smiled as I nudged him.

"Don't. Call. Me. Becky," he tried not to smile.

"Fine, Becky."

**Annabeth:**

"Our son has his first crush," I handed Percy the glass of white wine, knowing he would really need it. He accepted and took a sip before answering.

"Ugh, couldn't he wait a little while longer? Everything was going fine. I didn't have to worry whenever Joel was with Annie without supervision. I almost trust Zak. We were so very close," Percy banged his head on the back of the couch.

"If we had waited to meet, I would have joined Luke. You'd be dead, and so would the rest of the world," I pointed out as I pushed my head on his shoulder.

"You really would have joined Luke? _Luke_?" Percy asked. Oh Athena, I was hoping he wouldn't notice that. Perfect. He did. Okay, Annabeth. Think of a way outta this.

"Well, I thought I was in love with him. There was no Percy to show me I was wrong and make me fall madly in love," I smiled. He kissed the side of my head. Oh yeah. It worked.

"Nice save," he whispered in my ear.

"Do we have to give them to AU? Cant we lock them in their rooms and never let them out? Only Hera could be as cruel as to make our daughters grow up. Oh Zeus, Beck is going to college in thirteen years!" I pushed my head onto his shoulder, pretending to cry, like I _really really _wanted to. Percy played with my blonde curls.

"_I love you, Annabeth," Percy whispered in my ear. The heat I had lost from the cold sea air regained itself. Without thinking about it, I said it. _

"_I love you, too, Idiot Boy," I smiled. Percy couldn't hold back a laugh. I continued to look forward at the stars reflecting off the lake with Percy's arms wrapped around me. Everything felt perfect. A sweet bliss surrounded me. _

_Wait, Percy just said he loved me._

_And I said it back. _

"Annabeth, I love you," Percy smiled as he kissed me. It had been twenty-two years. It's amazing when you think about it. Five years of marriage, and we're still in love. Well, seventeen years of being in love before we got married, but that isn't the point.

"Dad, I'm going out. I'll be back in an hour!" Annie yelled. An hour? I saw Percy's face pale. Uh-oh. I was so close to making him forget the idea of what happened in the lake cleaning supplies house when we were seventeen. I never said we were the best of kids. Juniper made us go to an Apollo party, and most everyone was gone. So, there weren't many people to notice that we weren't in our cabin that night. Okay, anyway, Percy was on the verge of hyperventilating. Annie slipped out through the front door in an outfit that wasn't very encouraging. It was a dress like the one her mom wore when her parents met, don't ask how I know. You really don't want to know. I can assure you. A sparkling black minidress hugged every curve and heels that had to be three inches tall.

We waited until the whip of black hair followed out the door. Percy and I looked at each other knowing what to do.

"Art!" we yelled at the same time. Artemis came to the stairs cautiously, trying not to wake up Beck who had fallen asleep in her arms.

"Where's she going?" I asked. Artemis looked back down at Beck. The tall frame of Zak came through.

"You get him to bed. I'll tell," Zak told her before watching Artemis carry Beck to his room. Percy may have paled even more if it was possible, even though I'm pretty sure it wasn't. Zak walked down the stairs.

"Full story or cheat sheet?" Zak asked.

"Full," Percy answered. Oh no, it's his dad voice. This is bad.

"Nikki set Annie on a blind date from some guy who just moved into this building to cheer her up after Joel," I saw Percy's face fall even more after he heard that he lives in this building, "His name's Joshua. Going to NYU. Nikki wouldn't let any of us meet him because she knows how protective we are. So, that's all I got."

"Thanks," Percy told him before Zak went back up the stairs.

"Living on his own. In an apartment. In this building," Percy started to freak out. I took a breath. Ugh, couldn't Annie just meet someone at camp, not here?

"Perce, take a breath, Sweetheart," I tried to convince him. He turned to look at me.

"Think of my parents out of town, and we said you were going to camp early," Percy told me.

"Oh my God. Okay, you start the iris message. I'll make sure they wont be able to see us," I ordered. He nodded. What am I doing? I trust Annie. I do.

I'm just doing this for Percy. As if, I was really doing this for me.

Okay, don't tell anyone.

**Annie:**

"I had fun," I smiled at Joshua. How lucky am I that the hot guy was my blind date? I tried for my smile not to grow. I know this will never get serious. Hello, I don't want it to! I want to have a hot guy to show me that I still got it. Sure, I want a sweet guy to sweep me off my feet, but not yet. This is my last true high-school summer. After this, it's college summer jobs and deep hard-core partying. Right now, I just want to celebrate getting through high-school without getting pregnant or experiencing a hang-over on the day of a big test or losing Beck, okay, fine, I did that once. Anyway, that so isn't my point here. Sure, by the end of my first semester, I'll be searching high and low for a serious relationship, but that isn't now. Now, I'm just focusing on his lips that were just centimeters away from mine.

"_Annaliscious?" Joel asked with his arms crossed, trying desperately not to laugh, even though it totally wasn't working. _

"_Beck has to call me something, and Annaliscious just seemed like me," I shrugged. Joel sighed and shook his head, keeping his sweet smile out of sight. I wanted to scream for him to look back up so I could stare into those brown eyes for just a little while longer. Everyone was gone. Artemis was with Zak and Nikki at Zak's apartment. My parents were both at work. Victoria had left in a frenzy of excitement, probably going to dump her boyfriend because of pregnancy scare. It was just us for the next half-hour. I smiled to myself. _

"_Well, then, Annaliscious, we have the next thirty minutes to ourselves. What do you want to do?" Joel asked with the bad boy smile I had fallen for the second I met him. I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were looming in closer. _

I was brought back my Joshua's lips pressing against mine. I was never going to kiss Joel again. I just needed to accept the past is the past, and the present is the present. And the present is kissing Joshua.

"I'll call you," Joshua told me with a smile as he reluctantly released me. I smiled and slipped back into the door. Before I knew it, I squealed in excitement. When I opened my eyes again, my dad was waving his hands through in the air. It kind of looked like an Iris message, not that I cared enough at the moment to acknowledge it. Instead, I ran to Art's room, my high heels slapping against the hardwood floors.

"Take off the heels!" my dad yelled before I slipped open the door and ran in. Artemis sat on her bed with the student manual for AU in her lap. Her sopping wet hair was bleeding into her shirt, something I would have detested if it happened to me. I jumped onto the bed, excitedly. I laid down in order to kick my legs in the air.

"I'm guessing you had fun," Artty smiled.

"He's great. We're going to a movie tomorrow! I cant wait! He's just so perfect!" I smiled giddily.

"A. take off your shoes. Who knows what you're getting all over my bed. B. spill," Artty threw the book on the floor as I tried to unstrap each little straps and buckles on my shoes.

"Okay, so we went to that club for minors-" I started.

"The one with the colorful lights that give me a head ache on the dance floor? Or the one with the awesome smoothies?" Arty interrupted.

"Dance floor. So, we went dancing, and we took a walk in central park. Then when he was dropping me off he made plans for tomorrow with me and…" I smiled.

"And?" Artemis smiled.

"And he kissed me!" I yelled. Artemis joined me as I jumped on her bed.

**XXXXXX**

"Why are we doing this?" I whispered in Artty's ear.

"Stop worrying. It's only a little spying. Nothing much. He wont even see," she smiled and took my hand to pull me off.

"Wait, how will he not see? What if he catches us?" I asked. Artemis rolled her eyes before turning back to look at me. He held up a Yankees' baseball cap.

"How did you get that?" I asked.

"Mom let me borrow it when I was worried about Zak cheating. I just haven't given it back yet," she shrugged.

"Random voice of reason here, but that'll only hide one of us," I pointed out. Artemis rolled her eyes again. Wait, when did she become little miss attitude? Don't get me wrong. I'm liking it but still. She held up her wrist to show her silver watch that her dad had given her as his magical gift. When he first gave it to her, it made daggers and swords appear out of nowhere. Over the years, she tricked it our. It had a built in GPS that didn't bother monsters, a MP3 player, a iris messager, oh, and an alarm clock because we were always late for school.

"How is a magical watch that wakes people up and brings out weapons going to hide one of us?" I asked sarcastically. She pressed a side button, and the blonde disappeared. I couldn't hold back the astonished gasp.

"Nikki helped me make it," Artemis said before the cap was jabbed at me. I took it and slipped it on. I didn't feel any different so I looked down. Nothing. Perfect.

"Who's that?" Artemis whispered in my ear. I turned around to see a blonde walking down the hallway of Joshua's floor. She would have been very short had it not been for the illusion of long legs her denim shorts cast off or the highness of the red heels that matched. She walked with a confidence I knew all to well. She was about to see a boy. A cute boy.

I tried to keep my mouth closed as, with a confident flip of the hair, she stopped beside us at a mirror to check herself out. A tight, long-sleeve red shirt made her waist seem miniscule and her C-Cups look like D-Cups. She reapplied the ruby-red lip stain on her perfectly sculpted lips. She has to be a kid of Aphrodite. Or Aphrodite herself. She tussled her long ringlets for a good measure until smiling to herself.

"He's. Going. To. Love. This," the girl looked at the back of her jean shorts once more. _He?_ Who's _He?_

She strutted off to the end of the hallway, where she confidently knocked on the door. I could feel my breathing stop. Joshua said he lived in the last apartment on this floor. She was standing at the last door on the right. Maybe she's going to see his neighbor. That cant be his apartment. It cant.

"Knock. Knock," the girl flirtly smiled as the door opened to find a tall blonde boy in a grey tee-shirt and black pajama bottoms.

Joshua.

"Surprise," she wrapped her arms around his neck as she walked closer to him in a supermodel walk.

"What are you doing here?" Joshua flirted right back. I wanted to rip off his head, and if Art hadn't been holding me back.

"Come on. What do you have in there? A girl?" she said it as if the idea was absurd. She had no idea how much that could be true.

"No, I just thought you weren't getting here for another two weeks," when I was going to camp.

"I'm not. I'm only here for the night. My connection to Paris to finish my internship at Vogue was rescheduled until tomorrow afternoon. I'll out of here by nine. I just thought it'd be nice for me to stop by my hot boyfriend's apartment for the night. If you don't want me here, I can just go…" the girl looked down, making him look at the V-neck in her shirt. Uh-oh.

"No problem at all, Kelsy," he kissed her. Kelsy smiled before letting go and letting him lead her through the door. The closing of the door sent my lungs breathing again.

**Annabeth:**

I knocked on Annie's door. No answer. I opened the door cautiously to see Annie crying her bed.

"I'm thinking of going gay," Annie was able to say through the muffled cries.

"Annie," I started, trying to hold back a laugh. There was no way this boy crazy girl could go gay. It just wouldn't happen.

"Think about it. I break up with Mr. Perfect for college, and everything has gone down hill from him. Beck wont let me help. Joshua was not only cheating on me, he was cheating with me!" Annie sobbed into her pillow.

"Oh, Sweetheart," I sat down on the bed beside her to hug her.

"I-I miss Joel. He was perfect. Even his flaws were perfect. Artemis is in love with Zak, and it wont take long for Nikki to find a great guy. But I'm alone. He's probably happy to be free of me," Annie cried into my shoulder. I continued to listen to her sob on about how things were going terribly. Out of everything I got about it can be summed up into three words.

She.

Misses.

Joel.

"You really miss him, huh?" I smiled. Annie nodded.

"Annie, everything will be okay. Not all guys are that bad. Just call Joel," I told her.

"Fine," Annie told me. I kissed the side of her head before getting up to leave. Before I closed the door behind me, Annie called me.

"Thanks, Mom," she told me. I felt my heart swell and break at the same time. I smiled at her before closing the door behind me.

**Okay, so, I finished it earlier, but i said i would post it on Fridfay. so, i posted it on Friday. i also sent it to a few people to get a review on it before actually posting it. they liked it. so, here it is. Anyway, i hope you liked it. now, i have big news to announce, but i cant actually tell you until the big Finale. i promise you will love it, and it'll bring some happiness to those who will be depressed when this ends. **

***cough* me *cough* *cough***

**Happy Royal Wedding Day! **

**Oh and i'm evil! i forgot to meantion the people who helped with this chapter.**

**a special thanks goes to MaxJacksonCullengirl who helped me with the creation of Katrina. thank you so much!**

**also, for special help with the reaction and stuff like that dealing with the crush of our little Beck-A-Dee i would like to say Thanks to FutureNovelist887!**

**thank you so much  
**


	32. Chapter 32

_**READ THIS NOW BEFORE I GET ANY COMMENTS OBTAINING TO WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY:**_

_**THIS IS NOT THE ENDING. I REPEAT THERE IS GOING TO BE ANOTHER CHAPTER. SO, JUST TO BE SURE HERE. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHAPTER. GOOD HERE? GREAT.**_

_**Annabeth:**_

"_Annie!" Artty yelled at her step-sister. Annie cocked an eyebrow. _

"_What'd she say?" Zak asked Artemis as I sat on the chair facing the TV with a bowl of air-popped popcorn. Ugh, I hate microwave. You have to eat it fast or it gets cold and taste awful. Oh, and did you hear that there's metal in it? Ew, never eating it again. Uh-uh. No way. Artemis whispered something in his ear. _

"_Annie!" Zak yelled right back. I rolled my eyes as everything started to quiet down the second Percy sat down on the chair opposite of me. We're not scared of him or anything. It's just, well, he's the dad of this family. Dads don't want to hear the latest gossip or see you gossiping. Dads don't want to see you kiss your boyfriend, no matter how or when. They definitely don't want to see you in a 'teenage' outfit, a reason why Annie puts on a hoodie sometimes when he walks in. We're not scared, as I said before. We just don't want to see him upset._

"_What are we watching?" Beck asked, from where else but Artemis's side. I'm starting to think that he thinks Artemis is the mom and I'm the sister. I cant imagine how he'll be when she goes to college. Now, he'll be stuck with an aging couple to take care of him and two empty bedrooms that used to be occupied by his sisters. Even Bobby, who I barely saw anyway, missed me when I headed off to college. Beck had always had us all around, excluding summers when Annie and Art where at camp. I don't know how he'll cope with just a few breaks in the year and the last few weeks of summer with them, until he gets to camp of course. Chiron ordered us for him to come. It was the first time he had actually yelled at us. It wasn't pretty._

"_Annie decided to make some stupid video about us growing up," Artemis answered. _

"_It. Is. Not. Stupid!" Annie yelled at her sister. It would have been another hour of this had Zak not spoken up. _

"_Guys, it's getting late, and we have to be up early to get to camp tomorrow. Can we just hold off this fight until then?" Zak asked hopefully. I like this kid._

"_Fine," Artemis mumbled. _

"_Alright," Annie's grumble changed to a protective one when she finished, "But it isn't stupid."_

_*"Turn off that stupid guy's music!" Artemis screeched in the direction of Annie who held her MP3 player protectively. _

"_Justin Beiber is not stupid!" Annie, who was kind of in love with the guy, yelled right back._

"I'm overboard and I need your love to pull me through?_ It doesn't get much stupider, Anne," Artemis rolled her grey eyes. _

"_Oh yeah. What about _'There's a fungus in the icebox. All I got left is the fruit roll-ups'_?" Annie asked with her arms crossed._

"_Simple plan in not stupid!" Artemis yelled. A cry from the infant, Beck, who had just started to sleep through the night ended the laugh I was holding back as I saw them fight. _

"_Great, now you woke up the baby," Artemis stormed pass Annie. _

Percy snapped me back into reality with pressing play on the video. The first screen was of the graduating pictures for Annie and Artemis beside each other. Next, a picture of a chubby baby with a full head of black hair stared back at us. The next morphed into me holding Art in my arms when she had just been born. 

_* "Annabeth, are you sure you can handle this?" Malcolm asked me as he looked down at his new niece when I set her down in the grey crib. _

"_Malcolm, I can handle raising my own daughter and working the business. I didn't go into this unprepared. I have a babysitter to watch her during the day until she starts school. Bobby just got moved to work in the NYU history department, and he agreed to help. Right now, you need to focus on work and making sure Mia doesn't spoil Artemis rotten," I ordered to him. He sighed before nodding. _

"_Just know that Mia and I will be there when you need us," Malcolm told me. _

"_Thanks," I nodded. Raising a baby. My baby. I had always thought that I would be able to say 'Percy's baby, too', but I cant. He isn't the father. Nope, it is someone my mom hated the idea of him being the father even more than Percy. A god. Hephaestus. Over the last year, I fell in love with him, got pregnant with his child, and watched him leave. Now, here I was. Worrying about my daughter and wondering if Percy misses me or if he already has a child with someone else. _

The next was of Annie being covered in icing as she licked the last off a '1' birthday candle. A bubbly smile managed to show off her first tooth. A picture of Artemis was next. It was one I had very much forgotten. Malcolm with Mia on the other side of him smiled beside Artemis with white icing all over the top of his blonde curls. My brother brought the cake out and managed to trip over something and send the cake straight into Malcolm's hair. He and Bobby haven't been close since. 

A four year old little girl stood holding up a gold metal around her sopping wet neck. Her father, Percy, was smiling into the camera along with the soaking wet girl. From what I could tell, this was her first swim competition, though Percy didn't want to enter her because he knew she'd win thanks to her grandfather. She managed to convince him to let her in, and, as you can tell, she did win. That's how she got the scholarship to AU. Artemis applied for the Golf scholarship, but she missed the practice when they stopped by. So, it was given to some other kid instead. Annie got in and is counting the days until her first swim practice.

**Percy:**

After countless pictures of Annie and Art growing up, making me and Annabeth almost cry, Annie left to go for a swim, and Artemis and Zak were off at the park, probably making out. I really don't like my daughters dating. Especially when they've been together for a long time. That's when they start being really comfortable together, and things happen. And when I see a pregnancy test in the house, I don't worry it's Annabeth's. 

To sum that up, I don't like my daughters dating, especially not Annie, who falls in 'love' with boys, and she was told to only… you know, when she's truly in love. She just doesn't know when she's in love. So, this isn't going very well for me

Anyway, as I was saying, Annabeth was tucking Beck in as it was nine. Why Annie was still swimming at nine, I have no idea, unless its… okay, Percy, don't think like that. Let's not worry about Annie. Let's worry about my wife who is excepting that her daughter and her step-daughter are going to college in four months, and they're going to camp for two in the morning. Everything we've known is starting to slip away. Something knew is beginning. We're not going to see Annie and Artemis fight over if they're going to drive and if they are, who will drive to school. We're not going to hear Artemis and Annie screaming at each other in the hall but being fine when they get to the door. No more Annie flipping through magazines telling Artemis all about some cute guy she saw and how 'He was totally cuh-ecking her out!'. No longer will I wake up to the sound of Annie coming back from a training swim during swim season at school and yelling for Artty and Beck to wake up, instances in which she only woke us up, not them. 

Suddenly, I found that while I was thinking of how I was going to miss things I thought I hated I had finished my nightly routine of drying off from my shower, brushing my teeth, and changing into my pajamas. Instead of pondering that, I slipped between the sheets. A tired Annabeth walked into the door.

"Beckendorf, is such a Sweetheart. When will he go all…?" Annabeth tried to find the words as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and slipped into the bathroom to brush her teeth. 

"All boy?" I asked, concealing a smile. 

"Yes, _all boy. _When will he get violent, embarrassed of us, and hates his sisters?" Annabeth's high powered mechanical toothbrush whirled up as she asked me. 

"Annabeth, his sisters are too old for him to hate them. He'll always love them. We'll teach him to only be mean to Monsters. I think he's already embarrassed of us," I smiled. Annabeth stepped out to look at me. The toothbrush stopped and running water came through. Her eyebrows were raised, and I knew she had to be mad at me. I still managed to continue to smile. 

"Shut up," she disappeared back into bathroom. About five minutes later, Annabeth came out in a plush bathrobe.

"What are you doing?" I laughed as she slipped between the sheets beside me. Annabeth doesn't go to sleep in bathrobes because when she did once, the cord almost choked her. After that, she wont even consider it. Which to me, it kind of seems like a good thing. 

"I'm mad at you," Annabeth shrugged and pushed her blonde curls on the pillow. I ran my hand through a stray curl. She tried not to smile and pushed her face into her blanket. 

"What about the choking incident?" I smiled. 

"You'll fall asleep before me, and I can slip out of it then," Annabeth finally allowed herself to smile. I took it as a good sign and pulled her closer into a long kiss. Annabeth's lips pulled away from mine.

"You have no idea how so very close you are to sleeping on the couch," Annabeth whispered to me. I sighed and released her. Annabeth victoriously smiled and pulled the comforter over herself, trying to make me not notice how she was shimmying out of the robe. Instead of pointing it out, I just turned off my lamp and slid deeper into the sheets. 

"I love you, Annabeth," I told her as I closed my eyes when my head hit the pillow. A guilty look passed over Annabeth's face as I peaked a look. She turned back to look at me as I closed my eyes again. This used to work on her when we had just moved in together. I knew it'd still work on her now. 

Annabeth shifted from her spot far away from me to be closer to me. After a second of thinking, Annabeth took a deep breath. Desperately, I tied not to smile. Annabeth's lips crashed onto mine. And I win.

"This time only. I give in, _this time only_," Annabeth warned me. I smiled and pulled her even closer to me. 

"Of course, Sweetheart. Only _this time_," I kissed her again. 

**XXXXXXXXX**

"Daddy, I'll be fine," Annie told me. I hugged her one last time before she followed Artemis to the cab. I felt my heart break when the car zoomed off into the busy New York street. Annie's tanned hand waved once more in our direction. 

"Wow," Annabeth said under her breath sadly. I took her hand as we walked through the sidewalk to the apartment building lobby. Annabeth didn't say a word like she usually did. Instead, she held my hand tighter, letting me know how so very much she needed it. We walked on the marble flooring in the lobby without one sound. We didn't talk because we didn't need to. Everyone always says that you should work things out when you're upset as a couple, that isn't particularly true. Sometimes, you just need silence. We both know how each other is feeling. So, we don't need to explain it to one another. There's really nothing to talk about, and that's not bad. 

Annabeth took a deep breath as she pressed the elevator button. She didn't remove her hand from my grasp. Actually, she squeezed it even harder. 

"You okay?" I finally asked, speaking the first words since the girls had left for camp. Annabeth turned to look at me with tears in her grey eyes. 

"All grown up. They're all grown up," Annabeth broke down like I knew she would eventually. I wrapped my arms around her as she cried into my chest. 

"Wise Girl, we knew they would. Right now, let's just enjoy Beck, and by the time we're done with him, we'll probably have grandchildren," I smiled. She looked up, forgetting her sadness for her anger. 

"Do. Not. Call. Me. A. Grandma," Annabeth warned me. 

"Anna, they're gone for two weeks. Then they'll be right back for the last month of summer. Besides, it's only a four hour drive to go and see them. It's not like they're moving to California like you did," I smiled, knowing it would make her feel guilty. You may say that it's not a good idea to make your wife feel guilty when she feels bad. You're right, but you have never been married to Annabeth. Or at least you better not have. I'm watching you. 

"Yeah, you're right. You are completely right. And to the California thing, you said you were proud of me to go be with my dad," Annabeth wiped her tears. 

"I was," I smiled. The elevator dinged open. Annabeth took my hand with a smile to the apartment. 

**So, there will be another, don't worry. I'll be working on this weekend because my mom invited my grandmother to come down to our beach condo with us this weekend because of Mother's Day. I have to share a room with her, and she is sooo annoying. I shouldn't have to say that about my grandmother, but I'm like my mom. My mom is like her dad, and my grandparents divorced a long time ago. So, she doesn't particularly get along with us too well. I used to just spend time with PaPa, but he died a few years ago. After her second divorce, my grandmother really needs us. So, I'm trying, but because of this little fact, I'll be working this weekend.**


	33. The Finale

_**Wow, I cant believe it. It's time. Wish me luck.**_

_**Annabeth:**_

Beck tightened his grip on my hand even more for every step we took. Every second that passed, it hurt more. This didn't feel right. We shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be sending my daughter to college. This should be sending them to a camp or something, not this.

The cleanliness of the airport around me made me sick to my stomach. Guards were walking around preparing for the worst. Women in exotic outfits were lugging bags behind them walked along the white floors. Perky flight attendants walked along with their picture perfect smiles as their heels clacked with every step they took. Captains walked with a look of needing a long nap that they'd probably get on the flight. Tourist in Hawaiian shirts pointed to things and stopped to take a cheesy picture. Tourist are the worst. I was starting to feel a sudden urge to run back home, but I knew I couldn't. Instead, I tried to look like I wasn't about to die. In front of me, Annie was lugging her oversized pink bag on her shoulders. I understood why completely. Annie had packed as much as she could for college. Any trinket that wouldn't fit in her suitcase or boxes, went in her carry-on. Other than that, she also had a million magazines, a MP3 player stocked up with all of the latest songs, her laptop, a bunch of DVDs, and her cell phone, for calling her 'Shopping Sisters' on a four way call for as long as she could before the plane left.

Artemis was walking along slowly as well, but not from a heavy bag. She was thinking of how when she boarded the plane, she was a college girl. She wouldn't wake up to Annie screaming in her and Beck's ear after swim practice. She wouldn't be fighting with Zak in the hallway about absolutely nothing, then pretending everything was fine when Beck opened the front door to see what all the noise was about. She wouldn't sneak out from her room to sit on the terrace and stare at the stars for hours.

Everything was going to change when they got on that plane.

But everything had already changed. Annie and Artemis weren't going back to Atlantic Prep with Beck this year. Annie and Joel had broken up, for now anyway as he was going to spend a semester there for something with his major. Our daughters weren't eleven and trying to get their parents together. They weren't the little girls who Percy and I were worrying about as to how they'd take me being pregnant with Beck. Annie wasn't the little girl who spent more time on her hair then I did on my wedding day. Artemis wasn't the girl who was playing rock to detract away from the nervousness of her first day at Atlantic Prep. Annie wasn't dragging Arty to dances at school. They weren't the two little girls who tried to spy on me and Percy when we were dating. Annie wasn't the girl who was trying to get his dad with someone. Artemis wasn't the girl who tried to separate me from every guy I ever dated except Percy. Artemis wasn't the girl who was jealous of Marnie because she was truly in love with Zak, not that she would admit it then. Annie wasn't the leader of the 'Shopping Sisters'. Annie wasn't the girl who secretly wondered if her mom had left her because she didn't love her.

Getting on the plane just made it official. They were already grown up. Everything was already done.

Arty and Zak finally admitted that they had been in love all these years. Annie had accepted why her mom left and me as her mom. Artemis had gotten into her dream school. Annie had finally become the big sister she always secretly wanted to be. Arty grew to love the new life with Percy to the life we had lived with it just being us for years. They weren't the girls begging to baby sit their cousin's, Avery and Charlie. Annie managed to get her license after about four tries, and Artemis gloated to get it on her first. They both became best friends. Together we became a family.

I had made a deal to not cry, and I was keeping the deal after what Annie had chosen as the punishment if I cried before they left. I was not going to buy her a car until she get's her grades up. So, no tears, though it felt as impossible as ordering yourself to breath each time you took a breath instead of the automatic breathing.

Strangely, Percy and I weren't the ones taking it the hardest. Sure, we were taking this all really bad, but Beck was taking this a thousand times worse. He grew up to the sound of Annie's screams or her 'Good Morning Dance' play list. He was used to Arty picking him up from day care and Zak stopping by to 'study', which they never actually did study but that's beside the point. Beck was used to Nikki walking through the front door in some crazy outfit. A rock band t-shirt, dark wash skinny jeans, a leather jacket, high heel converse, and a purple tutu for example. Beckendorf didn't know a life without them, and, honestly, neither did I.

"This is the stopping point," Arty stopped to look mournfully at the security terminal before turning back around to look at us. She was on the verge of tears.

"This is it," it pained my heart to let me say those words. I squeezed Beck's hand as he looked like he was dying beside me before I let go to hug Artemis.

"Mom, I'm going to miss you so much," Artemis said, still in my grasp.

"Daddy," Annie rushed to her father.

"I love you, Sweetheart," I whispered in my daughter's ear just like I used to when she was seven and falling asleep in my arms as I read Shakespeare's VENICE MERCHANT, her favorite story at the time, though she kept thinking Antonio would end up with Portia. In my arms, she still felt like that seven year old girl.

"I love you, Mom," Artemis told me before ending the hug and hugging Percy.

"Mom," Annie hugged me. After everyone had hugged and said their goodbyes, Artemis stopped down to look at Beck.

"Beck-A-Dee, Annie and I wont be here to take care of Mom and Dad. So, we're both trusting you to take care of them, okay?" Arty tried to smile. Beck rushed forward to hug his sister.

"Don't go," Beck begged. I pushed back the tears, trying to keep to our deal.

"Becky, we have to, but promise me you'll take care of everything here. Make sure Avery and Charlie don't burn the city down, Mom and Dad are okay, and our rooms aren't turned into indoor aquariums," Arty told Beck. Beck looked up into his sister's matching grey eyes. It pained him, but he nodded.

"You guys will be late if you don't get going," Percy told them. Arty squeezed Beck one last time before letting go.

"I'll miss you, little boy," Annie hugged her younger brother.

"I'll miss you, too, Annaliscious," Beck finally called her the name she had been trying to get him to call her for years. Annie let a tear fall as she let him go.

"We'll call you when we get there," Artemis told us. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"We'll come up on Parents Weekend," Percy tried to be the strongest of all of us. We all needed someone to keep us from dying, and Percy took the job, even though he was dying as well.

"Okay," Artemis's voice cracked, "We-we better go."

"Yeah," Annie's voice was broken, too, as she picked up the bag she had dropped to hug us to follow Artemis's example.

I watched them walk away, still seeing Artemis as the little girl walking away to tell all the kids at her fourth birthday party it was time to blow out the candles. The girl walking to her first day of school. The girl walking to her first dance recital. Her first day at camp. Her first day at Atlantic Prep. To go skating with Zak. To plan a prank with Nikki on Marnie. To search high and low for a protractor on her first homework assignment involving one. To answer the phone to find her boyfriend, Zak. To pick out her prom dress.

Not the girl who got into her dream college. Not the girl who helped Zak with his drinking problem. Or the girl who became a second mother to my son. Not the girl who was sneaking out to spy on Annie's current boyfriend with her. Or to spend time with her boyfriend. Nor the girl who pronounced her love for Zak.

Not the girl who is getting on a plane to go to college at American University.

Artemis was all those things. She was my little girl who grew up.

I looked over at my husband. He was looking at Annie, and I knew he was feeling the same way I was feeling. I took his hand and squeezed it for a good measure. Percy turned to look at me, his perfect green eyes heartbroken. I took on the strong role this time.

"We all grow up."

**The End.**

**Please, I know this was sad, and it may hurt those die-hard fans to read the Author's Note, but please. I promise it'll bring good news. Just please read it. **


	34. Author's Note

On December 1st, 2O10, I posted the first chapter of We All Grow Up Even Percabeth, thinking it wouldn't do well. It would be something to do in my spare time and would be the backup plan of my first story. If you've read it, you know that it deserved its title as an utter flop. It was terrible.

Anyway, I didn't think I was a good writer until I started this. All of my fans helped me in this all. I owe everything to you. Some may beg for this to continue, but this hurts me more than it hurts any of you. I promise. I'm the girl who hated change and goodbyes, but thanks to you all, I'm better about that. It still hurts to end it, but it's the best thing to do. My heart is breaking to write this. Wow, I never thought I'd really end it, but I did. And it was the right thing to do.

I love you guys. I hope you loved this story, and I hope you continue to read the other stories I write as there will be more. Hopefully, even that book I'm writing that I'm trying to finish.

Everything is changing for me, and I know that that can be good just as this can be good.

Thank you. Wish me luck as I continue on with my life and kiss this story goodbye. I owe you.

**To end this on a happier note, I am proud to offer to you something I have been encouraged to do by A LOT of people. I wanted to save the announcement, but here it is. **

**Just as I started WE ALL GROW UP EVEN PERCABETH on the first of December, let's keep up that lucky first of the month gig. On June the first, I will be uploading the first chapter of the sequel. I'm working on a name, but you'll love it. **

**It'll be all about Annie, Artemis and the occasional Beckendorf. Percy and Annabeth will be minor characters, I'm afraid, in most of it, but don't worry. They'll be sure to make their appearances. **

**So, mark your calendars for June 1****st**** of 2011 when you'll be welcoming back those girls tens of thousands watched grow up together. **


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